On The Wings Of Destiny
by andrewjameswilliams
Summary: While investigating strange spatial anomalies in a system on the edge of ISA territory Anla'shok John Crichton encounters a wormhole and gets flung into a distant part of the galaxy. Chapter 14 up sorry about the delay.
1. Chapter One

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On The Wings Of Destiny (Farscape/Babylon Five Crossover)

Author's Notes: If altered the Farscape universe a little in that like in B5 they have hyperspace technology though its nowhere near as developed. Most starships are only capable of entering and exiting hyperspace via jump gates with only the largest ships able to open jump points on their own power. The only exception to this is leviathan ships, which can open jump points on their own, but only when enough power has been built up. Although they do use hyperspace beacons leviathans do not necessarily have to in that they have a spatial sense that shows them where they are in hyperspace relative to their position in normal space.

B5 universe events take place after Sleeping In Light. 

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Chapter One

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Lanaro Sector 

The Lanaro system was a quiet out of the way place on the edge of Interstellar Alliance territory. No one came here as the system had nothing really to offer there were no really exploitable resources certainly nothing as valuable as the Quantium Forty ore the element that was essential for the construction of both jump gates and jump engines. There were no habitable planets – even if there had been nobody would have bothered with it since the system was so far off the shipping lanes that colonising here would not be worthwhile. The systems only unusual feature was the odd gravitation and spatial fluctuations around its twin suns.

A large jump point opened and from it emerged three ships – two were Interstellar Alliance White Star attack cruisers, the other which utterly dwarfed the two White Stars was an Earth Alliance warship specifically one of the new Firebrand-class dreadnoughts which had recently replaced the Warlock-class heavy destroyers as the largest, strongest and most advanced warships in Earth Forces arsenal. Against a Firebrand few ships save a Minbari Sharlin-class war cruiser or an ISA Victory-class destroyer stood a chance.

Aboard the massive three thousand and fifty meter long dreadnought – the EAS _Independence_ – Anla'shok John Crichton was deep in last minute preparations for his part of the mission that the _Independence_ along with White Stars 73 and 74 had come here to do. Shortly after he'd joined the rangers John had approached the Interstellar Alliance with a proposal to properly examine the spatial fluctuations in the Lanaro system. He'd studied what little information was available for years before joining the Rangers – back when he'd been doing his doctorate in astrophysics – and had been unhappy at the lack of information available about them.

The ISA had been interested in his proposal – it had especially caught the attention of former ISA president turned Entil'zha of the Rangers John Sheridan before his recent death. Sheridan had convinced his wife President Delenn and the rest of the ISA Council that it could be beneficial and preparations had begun. The EA had joined in as well when John's old childhood friend and fellow scientist DK had convinced his father General Jack Crichton that it might be a good idea and that the ISA was backing it.

Preparations had taken some time especially designing the ship that would carry out his part of the mission, which was the dangerous bit of actually examining the spatial distortions up close. The result of their work was a ship that John had christened the _Farscape_, a modified version of a Blue Star scout ship, modified in that she was slightly bigger than normal fifty-eight meters long instead of the normal fifty-two, mounted a more sophisticated sensor suit and had stronger energy shielding backing up her bio armour hull. Until very recently true energy shields – not the gravitic dispersion shielding used by the Minbari, Centauri and a few others – had been specific to the White Star Fleet and before that the now gone First Ones. But when the Blue Star scout ships had been developed they'd successfully managed to retro engineer Vorlon-style energy shielding for them. As the ISA treaty demanded the new shield technology had been shared with the rest of the alliance races. So now all ISA member worlds were refitting warships with energy shields the result was ships like the _Independence_ which mounted defensive energy shielding in addition to her thirty meter thick armoured hide and comprehensive point defence and counter measures systems. The _Farscape_ also mounted an additional set of antimatter power cells to back up her micro quantum gravitic reactor and her fusion reactor.

Currently John was standing outside the _Farscape_ on the _Independence's_ main hanger deck going over some last minute test results with DK and a pair of the Minbari Worker Caste engineers who'd built the _Farscape_.

"Everything is looking good John," DK said. "Power, sensors, gravimetric engines, weapons and defensive systems, life support, artificial gravity everything is reading A-Ok." DK looked up at his old childhood friend and smiled and couldn't help but think how handsome John looked in his Ranger uniform. _If Susanna were here she'd be green with envy,_ DK thought knowing that Susanna Dupree – a fellow scientist who'd worked on the _Farscape _development project – was secretly completely smitten with one John Crichton but could never pluck up the courage to ask him out.

"I'm glad to here it," John said smiling back. "It wouldn't do to come this far only for something to go wrong and us have to go all the way back to Minbar for repairs."

"That would be unfortunate," one of the two Minbari agreed.

The doors to the hanger bay opened and John's father came in and walked over looking very formidable in his blue Earth Force uniform.

"Is everything okay," Jack Crichton asked as he approached them. DK had to fight the urge to snap to attention as Jack approached even though he hadn't been in Earth Force for several years.

"Everything is fine general," the second Minbari replied giving a formal Minbari bow to Jack. Politely Jack returned it.

"Excellent then you better get ready to launch. Captain Roberts tells me we'll be in position in ten minutes. But before you do I want to borrow my son for a moment."

"Sure thing dad," John said then her turned to the two Minbari and said something in their language that had the two Minbari darting into the _Farscape_ to bring all systems fully online. John would be flying the _Farscape_ alone when the time came but first they were going to make sure everything was ready to go. DK for his part went to check to make sure the data uplink from the _Farscape_ to the _Independence's_ main computer was ready to go.

John for his part walked over to the far side of the bay with his father.

"You got rattlers in your stomach John," Jack asked giving his son an assessing gaze.

"A little," John admitted. "We've been working towards today for the last three years I just hope its all going to be okay."

"Its only natural to be nervous. When I was still a pilot I was always nervous before a mission." John knew what his father was referring to, his father had been a fighter pilot during the Shadow War and the Earth Alliance Civil War, he'd made a captain just before the Drakh War began and had commanded one of the few – then still brand new – Warlock-class heavy destroyers throughout the course of the war.

Before John could reply the link on the back of his father's hand went off.

"Yes," his father said into the offending object.

"Sir we've reached the deployment coordinates," Captain Roberts voice said from the tiny speaker.

"Very well stand by for deployment I'll be right there."

"Aye sir."

"I better go," John said as his father lowered his hand back to his side.

"Before you do take this," Jack replied pulling a small puzzle ring on a silver chain from his pocket and held it out for his son. "Take it."

"But dad that's your lucky ring," John protested.

"Look after it for me," Jack said. "You can give it me back when you return."

"Dad."

"I insist." John sighed knowing better than to argue with his father when his mind was made up. Reluctantly he took the ring from his father and put it around his neck before tucking it under the collar of his uniform.

"Good luck son," Jack said before they hugged briefly then when they parted John headed towards where the _Farscape_ sat in the middle of the bay. Jack for his part left the bay for the bridge.

*****

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Four Minutes Later

John Crichton sat alone in the command chair on the compact bridge of the _Farscape_ as the ship launched from the _Independence_. With quick commands to controls on the armrests of the chair he increased power to the engines and shot away from the _Independence_ and her escorting White Stars.

"Ship open communications link," he instructed. The AI unit immediately complied.

"Communications link open," the ships soft female voice said in response.

"_Farscape _to _Independence._ All systems operational proceeding to initial target zone," John informed the dreadnought that was rapidly receding behind him.

"Acknowledged _Farscape_," DK's voice replied from the bridge of the _Independence_.

A quick command into his controls activated the _Farscape's_ shielding, a second quick command opagued the bridge windows so he was protected from the glare of the twin suns. A holographic display automatically shimmered into existence in its place.

A couple of moments later the _Farscape_ announced that they were entering initial target zone.

"Begin scanning," John ordered.

*****

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Bridge

EAS Independence

DK sat at the science station on the _Independence's_ bridge observing and cataloguing the telemetry from the _Farscape_ as it came in. So far everything was going perfectly. The scanners of the modified Blue Star were sending huge amounts of data back to them on the nature and composition of the spatial anomalies created by the fluctuating magnetic fields of the two suns. Sensors showed the anomalies to actually be small wormholes an extraordinary thing to occur. Nobody in history – except maybe the Shadows, Vorlons and the other First Ones – had ever really been able to study wormholes; they were such unpredictable and transient phenomenon that examining them in any detail had been impossible. Astrophysicists across the ISA would go nuts when they got this information to examine.

DK briefly glanced at the systems readout from the _Farscape_ her shields were holding against the radiation output of the two suns and would continue to do so for sometime.

A bleep from the sensors caught DK's attention. He immediately looked at it a large solar flare was beginning to erupt from the surface of one of the suns. Though it wouldn't pass close to the _Farscape_ the sharp radiation spike could damage her despite her shields and armour.

DK opened the comlink to the _Farscape_.

"John our sensors are picking up a magnetic flux on the surface of one of the suns. A large solar flare is forming. It's going to erupt quiet close to you I'd advise you withdraw for a short while until the flare passes."

"DK…say….again….cannot…..read….you….clearly," John's voice crackling with static distortion replied.

"John withdraw from the suns," DK said again.

"Can…re….ou."

"Increase power to communications array," Jack Crichton ordered from the command chair. The communications officer nodded and complied.

"Try now," he instructed to DK.

"John can you hear me," DK called into the comm.

"Barely," came the static washed voice. "I know what your calling about I can see it to. I'm going to try and withdraw."

"Sir the _Farscape's_ coming around," sensors reported to Jack. "She's heading back our way."

Jack nodded he could see it himself on the bridge display screens. The _Farscape_ spun around with an agility no Earth ship except for a Starfury could come close to mimicking and began to move back towards the safety of the _Independence_.

However before the _Farscape_ could get more than a few kilometres disaster struck. The massive solar flare vomited up from the surface of the star though it missed the _Farscape_ by a good thousand kilometres its accompanying electromagnetic wave slammed into the small scout ship with full force knocking her tumbling out of control her hull tight energy shielding crackling brilliant white as it struggled to keep the massive influx of energy away from the hull. Simultaneously one of the wormholes burst open and sucked the _Farscape _in before vanishing in a blinding flash of light that completely obscured the scene of the modified Blue Star tumbling out of control into the wormhole. The blast of light being caused by bits of stellar matter expelled from the surface of the star colliding and exploding producing a fusion explosion as the two sub critical masses of superheated hydrogen collided.

All this took less than thirty seconds before the horrified bridge crew of the _Independence _could even begin to react.

"In Valen's name," one of the two Minbari techs' on the bridge breathed. A shocked DK looked straight at Jack to see that the general's face had gone as still as iron as the older man brutally suppressed his own emotions. The only give away of what he could be feeling was the sudden pallor his skin had taken on.

"Deploy every single probe and sensor bot that we've got," Jack ordered his voice as cold as ice with the emotional control the general was maintaining. "Search that whole area. If there's any sign of John find it." Though the bridge crew to a man knew it was hopeless they didn't have the heart to disobey so they did as they were ordered.

*****

For several hours the _Independence_ and the two White Stars searched the whole area using probes, robot drones and every single sensor that they had. They were incredibly thorough so thorough that had there been anything left of the _Farscape_ bigger than a playing card they would have found it.

At the end of that time the three ships unhappily turned and jumped back into hyperspace having found no sign of the _Farscape_. General Crichton yielded command of the _Independence's _bridge to Captain Roberts and went to his quarters. Once there he locked the door behind him and the mask of iron willed general vanished and Jack Crichton screamed at the top of his lungs before dropping to his knees and breaking into open tears of pain and loss.


	2. Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

Author's Note: I know this chapter and the next couple are going to be initially almost identical to the pilot episode of Farscape. That cannot be helped though as its necessary to show how Crichton gets aboard and joins the crew of Moya. Future chapters however will diverge from established Farscape episodes however.

When the electromagnetic wave from the solar flare slammed into the _Farscape_ Crichton had absolutely no time to react. The _Farscape_ shook violently and John was pitched out of his chair to the deck. Sparks shot out of the bridge consoles and alarms screamed at full blast. The holodisplay remained operational and John could see that space outside had turned into a shimmering blue tunnel down which he was travelling at unbelievable speed. Around him the ship continued to shake so violently that John thought that she was about to shake herself apart.

A violent jerk to starboard sent him rolling helplessly across the floor to slam painfully into the far wall knocking the wind right out of him. Another violent jerk this time to port followed and John could do nothing to stop himself from rolling across the floor again like a Human bowling ball. Before he could hit the far wall and surely break a rib or two the deck returned to an even keel and all the shaking stopped.

After getting his breath back John got back to his feet and looked around the compact bridge of the _Farscape_. Smoke hung in the air from damaged systems, the holodisplay had shut down but everything seemed to be okay otherwise.

"Ship damage report," John ordered.

"Gravimetric engines disabled, shields disabled, jump engines disabled, weapons systems disabled, stealth systems operating at twenty percent capacity," _in other words anyone with a half decent set of sensors can see us,_ John thought. Minbari stealth systems were wonderful things to have but when damaged they were more trouble than they were worth since anyone with reasonable sensors could see you and could get at least a partial weapons lock, during the Earth/Minbari War a few decades ago now a number of Minbari warships both the big Sharlin war cruisers and the smaller but almost as deadly Tinashi-class war frigates had been badly damaged or even destroyed by Earth Force warships when their stealth systems had been damaged by lucky hits or a kamikaze ram by a Starfury pilot. "Holographic displays disabled," the ship continued. "Automatic repair systems have engaged. Priority damage will be repaired within ten minutes. Secondary damage will take four hours to repair."

"Ship have we got any propulsion at all?"

"Affirmative ion particle manoeuvring jets are still operational."

"Do they have enough power to navigate us clear of the asteroid field?"

"Affirmative. Shall I set a course?"

"Do it," John ordered moving over to one of the consoles instead of the command chair where he'd been sitting before and began to look over the sensors logs of what had just happened. "Ship can we send a distress call?"

"Negative. Communications arrays disabled." _Damned it can't even call dad for help,_ John thought then he reached the console and recoiled in surprise. Sensors showed no sign of either the _Independence_ or her two escorts and the system around him had changed. In addition to the asteroid field there were a no planets here whereas the Lanaro system had had five – two lifeless rocks and three gas giants, there was only one sun instead of two and it was a F-type star instead of a G-type. Star coordinates around them did not match any known configuration. _In Valen's name where am I,_ John thought as he paid more attention he could see sensor contacts consistent with starships and fighters but the configurations matched nothing in the records. One of the more distant contacts was huge almost as big as a Explorer ship which were the largest vessels in known space save for some Drakh motherships

"Ship can you confirm these sensor readings?"

"Confirmed sensor readings are accurate Anla'shok Crichton." John knew he should have been yelling in shock or something by this point but he was calm his Ranger training effortlessly kicking in. _Master Durval would be so proud,_ he thought thinking fondly of the old Minbari Ranger who'd taught meditation classes at the main Ranger training centre just outside the city of Tuzanor on Minbar until his death three years ago. John had been one of the old masters last students.

Without warning something flew past the slowly moving _Farscape_ with enough force to jolt her with the particle wake from its engines. Three more flew past. John checked the sensor readings a small group of fighter craft had just shot past him moving to where a single ship was hanging motionless in space a few thousand kilometres away. Fighters of identical design to the ones who'd just past him were buzzing around it and firing some kind of pulse weapons at it. From this range it was impossible to determine what kind of pulse weapons they were if they were phased plasma like most Earth Force pulse cannons, or were pulsed fusion weapons like the two the _Farscape_ was armed with, or ionised plasma like the bolts fired from a Centauri ion cannon. _Great seems like I'm in a war zone,_ John thought, _and I don't have any defence apart from the bio armour hull and no way to hit back if I'm attacked since weapons are down, and I can be seen because the stealth system isn't working properly_. _I'm also moving slowly towards the battle. Better change course._

Quickly John accessed the navigational controls and was about to lay in a course away from the battle at the best speed he could manage without the main engines when a fighter shot around the asteroid he was passing on a direct collision course. Hurriedly the alien pilot pulled up and managed to avoid striking the _Farscape_ only to clip another asteroid and career out of control for a second, the alien pilot was fortunately skilled enough to bring his craft back under control and limp out of the asteroids trailing either fuel of coolant leaking from a ruptured tank or conduit. _He's good but reckless who in there right minds flies so fast inside an asteroid field,_ John thought then noticed that he was almost at the battle now. 

The stationary ship was beautiful its hull a golden brown colour with wings sweeping back from what was obviously the main body and almost meeting. From the look he guessed the ship to be organic in nature a fact confirmed a second later by the sensors. An ugly metal thing was wrapped around its head it looked almost like a giant dog collar. The ship was big too. John guessed that it was about the same size length wise as the old Hyperion-class cruisers. Above him the ship seemed to shiver as the unknown fighters strafed it again and again with their pulse weapons.

Reluctantly John looked back at the navigational controls and entered the commands to alter course, nothing happened.

"Ship why can't I change course," John demanded.

"We are being held by a focused gravitational web similar to a tractor beam Anla'shok Crichton. It is pulling us towards the unknown ship. Our thrusters have insufficient power to break free of the web." _Terrific,_ John thought.

"How long until the gravimetric drive is back on line?"

"Five minutes." _That's too long,_ John thought as he saw a door open on the alien ships hull, a door easily big enough for the _Farscape_ to fit through. _Guess I've got no choice but to meet whoever's on that ship and hope I can convince them to let me go._

"Ship shut down thrusters allow them to take us aboard."

"Affirmative." Their approach to the alien ship noticeably speeded up as the thrusters stopped resisting the pull of the alien's unusual tractor beam.

Within a few moments the modified Blue Star was set down in a huge room that was obviously a hanger of some sort. And John considered what to do now though he didn't have much choice.

"Ship what's the atmosphere like outside."

"The bay we are in is being pressurised as we speak Anla'shok Crichton," the ship replied. "But I am reading an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere in the rest of the ship that is safe for humanoid life forms to breath."

"Very well. Once the bay has been pressurised lower the embarkation ramp."

"Affirmative." 

With that John left the small bridge and walked down the narrow corridor to the ships next compartment, the living quarters. He moved to the armoury section and opened the cupboard there inside were three Minbari denn'boks or fighting pikes in their retracted state, three PPG's with a dozen energy caps each, three Minbari neutron blasters like the PPG's each had a dozen energy caps with it, also present were a set of Minbari gravitic force rings. Ingenious little things that looked like harmless ornamental rings but which could manipulate a local gravity field to a frightening degree. The Minbari didn't use them often though since there area of effect was limited and they had to be held stationary near the target.

After a moments though John just picked up one of the denn'boks. They'd been his favourite weapon during training and unlike a PPG or neutron gun they weren't immediately an obvious weapon since in the retracted state they resembled nothing more than a small, harmless looking metallic cylinder. He placed it in the belt of his uniform then closed the cabinet and went to the airlock. The status screen beside the airlock showed that the atmosphere outside was now at the same level as most planets and it was safe to exit the ship.

"Ship go to secure shut down mode but continue with repairs," John ordered.

"Affirmative."

Taking a deep breath and resisting the urge to extend his fighting pike and have it ready for action John cycled through the airlock and left the _Farscape_.


	3. Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

Upon leaving the _Farscape_ John found a number of small yellow robots waiting for him. A small weapon emerged from one of the robots and it seemed to gesture to the side. Taking the hint John started to move in that direction slowly. A small energy pulse shot out of the robots weapon and struck his leg making him yelp more in surprise than pain since there was virtually no energy in the pulse, not even enough to singe his uniform. John had to stop himself from reaching for his fighting pike, extending it and pummelling the little robot to bits.

Nevertheless he took the robots hint and picked up his pace. Only to briefly stagger as the ship shuddered under him proof that the attack outside was continuing.

*****

The robots shepherded John through the ship for some time. Until eventually he came to what was obviously the alien ships bridge. It was quiet a spacious room with golden ribbed walls. A large display screen or window – he wasn't sure which it was – showing the fighters buzzing by outside was at the front of the room. Here and there a console stood free and off to the side was some kind of table. A clamshell like thing was on the wall near it.

Two aliens were on the bridge both humanoid. One was bald and had blue skin and from the curves of its body was clearly female. The other was a tall powerfully built creature with tentacles on its head.

One of the robots bleeped and that alien was the one that spun around and John almost took a step back. The alien's gaze was full of contempt and hostility and would have probably given even a Narn a scare. The alien marched up to him and picked him up by the throat and lifted John off his feet as if he weighed nothing not the two hundred and fifteen pounds that he actually weighed. Its strength was obviously immense probably equalling a Narn or at least a Minbari. The alien growled at him in a language that John did not understand. The other alien on the bridge glanced back at him as well.

"I don't understand," John said to the alien. A momentary look of confusion appeared on the aliens face – it had clearly understood him and seemed to be surprised that he didn't understand it.

One of the little robots promptly glided up and injected something into John's leg making him gasp more in surprise than pain.

The alien growled at him again and again John didn't understand the words. Then the second alien spoke and like the other one John didn't understand her but her words soon translated coming through as unaccented English, which shocked John to no end.

"I suggest you answer him quickly," she said. "You know how Luxans can be."

"Your ship," the alien Luxan growled at him as the ship shuddered around them under a fresh volley of pulse cannon fire from the attacking fighters. "What kind is it?"

"Your ship appeared from nowhere," the female alien explained briefly turning to look at him. "We did not detect a jump point opening yet your ship appeared. We don't know that technology is it something we can use to escape." A fresh volley of fire struck the ship and the deck shuddered with more violence and John knew that a hull breach wasn't far off.

"Tell us or die with us," the Luxan growled. John had by now had more than enough of the Luxan holding him in this grip he was about to reach for his denn'bok and extend it in such away as to strike the Luxan straight in the jaw with the full force of its extension without hitting himself when frustrated at his lack of response the alien threw him to the side. John landed with a thump that for the second time in less than fifteen minutes knocked the air from his lungs.

He glared at the Luxan while he staggered over to a pedestal like station while the ship shook beneath another assault.

"Pilot I demand you give me manoeuvrability now," the Luxan shouted. A blue hologram appeared in the clamshell showing the face of an alien unlike anything John had seen in his life before and that was saying something considering all the different member races their were in the Interstellar Alliance.

"There is nothing I can do," the alien replied. "Not while the control collar is still in place." Another volley of fire struck the ship. "Moya cannot withstand this assault much longer outer hull integrity is approaching critical compromise."

The Luxan growled and raced away from the pedestal to one of the consoles ripped up the lid and began pulling at the organic looking cabling inside.

"Those synapses you are tearing up are not wired to the control collar," the Pilot alien said.

"Then I'll keep pulling until I find the ones that are," the Luxan growled as he continued to pull at the wiring. John watched quietly. _Clearly this particular species has to have a really short fuse,_ he thought.

Something whizzed past him and almost clipped the side of his head.

"Get out of the way," a voice hissed at him. The owner of the voice was an alien that looked like some bizarre kind of bipedal frog, the alien was very short and was riding on some sort of antigrav sled. More pulse fire struck the ship at that moment making the deck shudder violently beneath him.

"Where are the others," the blue woman asked the newcomer.

"There are no others," the alien replied. "I've checked every cell level." _Prisoners,_ John thought, _these people are prisoners. And this is a jailbreak. Great what have you gone and got yourself into here Johnny boy._ The alien moved up to the Luxan. "I found a manifest," the alien said. "We were scheduled for transfer to Terran-Ra."

"That's a lifers colony," the Luxan growled then proceeded to resume tearing at the wiring. The small alien on the sled moved towards John and studied him.

"They brought you aboard didn't they," the alien said. "Don't worry I'll protect you I'll look after you now. You look after me later." Another round of pulse fire shook the ship and the alien moved off slightly. John at that moment heard the blue alien woman muttering what sounded like a prayer in a strange lyrical language. Then she stopped and a look of wonder appeared on her face.

"What have you done," she said to the Luxan. The Luxan looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"The coding wall its fading," the woman replied hope in her voice. "I've hit the code, I've hit the code."

"The control collar it's coming off," the Pilot alien said abruptly as a staccato series of bangs sounded throughout the ship. On the front screen the large metal collar that had been attached to the ship slowly drifted away as the explosive elements on the joints that had been holding it to the hull detonated releasing the ship from the collars grasp.

John heard a whirr of sound as the ships engines started and a faint healthy vibration began in the deck as Moya began to move under her own power.

"Pilot prepare for an immediate jump to hyperspace any heading," the Luxan said.

"But Moya has been restrained so long," the Pilot objected.

"She is a leviathan it's the only defensive manoeuvre that she is capable of." The Pilot thought for a moment.

"Prepare to jump," the Pilot said as new humm of power sounded throughout the ship. 

John looked to the front from where he was still lying on the floor in time to see a jump point open in space ahead of the ship. Moya transited into the familiar marbled red and black realm of hyperspace with the jolt that most ships experienced while entering and exiting a jump point. Unknown to anyone one of the attacking fighters was too close and got caught in the energy wash of Moya's engines and pulled into hyperspace as well. The jump point closed behind Moya destroying three of the pursuing fighters in the process.

"We've done it we've escaped," the Pilot announced. "Setting course for a hyperspace beacon twelve light cycles from hear. Attention one Prowler travelled through the jump point with us."

"Block its radio, net it and bring it aboard," the Luxan ordered.

"As good as done," the Pilot said before vanishing.

The three aliens then turned to look at John and he felt a chill at the hostility he could see in their gazes.

"At least we are free," the blue woman said. The small alien for his part spat at John reddish mucus impacting the right side of his face. Getting to his feet John wiped it away.

"What the hell is wrong with you people," he demanded to know. "Who are you?" _Christ I sounded a bit like a Vorlon when I said that bit,_ John thought.

"We ask the questions now Peacekeeper," the Luxan growled. Then his tounge shot out. It was quiet a long tounge like those certain Earth lizards had but was tipped with a stinger. With lightning reflexes burned into him during Ranger training John dodged it, retrieved his denn'bok from its slot on his belt and extended it. In less than a second he was holding a solid staff of gleaming metal.

The Luxan couldn't help but be impressed by the speed of the Sebacean males before him's reaction. He was definitely a warrior and from the way he was holding that metal staff that had suddenly appeared expanding from a tiny cylinder on his belt he knew how to fight. There was no doubt in his mind that the man before him was a Peacekeeper even if he did wear a different uniform and travelled in a unknown ship.

"I'm not a Peacekeeper," John said.

"Do not lie," the Luxan growled and launched himself at John. John pivoted to the side and the alien shot past, in the same fluid motion John whacked him hard in the back with his denn'bok.

With a furious growl the Luxan spun round rubbing his aching back where he had been struck with surprising force. Hyper-rage fuelling his short temper he darted towards John aiming to crush his throat all thoughts of interrogating him gone. Again John dodged but this time he swung the denn'bok to strike the Luxan in the abdomen knocking the wind out of him with a satisfying _whumph_. Then before his opponent could even begin to react he spun and struck the Luxan in the small of the back hard, before sweeping his legs out from under him. The Luxan hit the deck with a bone-jarring thud that stunned the Luxan and made stars explode before his eyes. John approached and held the edge of the denn'bok close to the shocked aliens windpipe.

The other two aliens on the bridge stared at the scene in shock amazed by what they'd just seen. They'd never seen a Luxan fuelled by hyper-rage be taken down with such swift efficiency and now the Sebacean who'd done it was holding the tip of his metal staff to the Luxan's throat clearly prepared to kill if he had to.

"Now I'll ask you again," John said. "Who are you?"

"Ka D'Argo," the Luxan replied shock in his tone. "Never before has someone done what you have just done Peacekeeper."

"I've already told you I'm not a Peacekeeper. Whoever they are. My name is John Crichton as for what I am I am Anla'shok or a Ranger if you prefer," John replied.

"I suppose your going to claim that you're not Sebacean either," D'Argo said sarcastically.

"I do not know what a Sebacean is but I'm not one. I'm a Human or homo sapien if you want the scientific name for my species."

"You are lying," D'Argo growled still conscious of the tip of the metal staff at his throat. He knew that this man could kill him in an instant if he so chose. John rolled his eyes.

"Oh for goodness sakes there must be something I can do to convince you that I speak the truth."

"I believe you," the blue alien said. "There is the spirit of truth in your words."

"Much as I believe in Delvian mysticism Zhaan I don't agree," the little alien said. "I want concrete proof."

"What proof do you want little one," John asked.

"Little one," the little alien said irate. "I am Rygel XVI Dominar of Hynerian Empire. You have no right to speak to me in such a fashion."

"Really I thought you were a prisoner," John said sarcastically.

"Falsely imprisoned," Rygel growled. "My cousin Beshan stole my throne from me. A thing I shall soon be correcting."

"Can I get up please," D'Argo asked he was tired of lying on the floor with the tip of this metal staff at his throat. But he dared not try to move on his own lest the movement bring the tip to staff crashing down onto his windpipe.

"Oh sorry," John said retracting the denn'bok so that it once more resembled a harmless little cylinder that he clipped back onto his belt. Then he offered his hand to D'Argo. The Luxan took his hand and let the Human help him up.

"You are a great fighter John Crichton," D'Argo said with grudging respect. "It will be an honour to get to know you." John smiled and gave a formal Minbari bow to the three aliens before him.

"The honour will be mine."

"You certainly don't speak like a Sebacean," Rygel conceded reluctantly. "But I still want proof. A medical scan should confirm that truth."

"I can certainly do that," Zhaan agreed.

"Very well if it's the only way to convince you I don't mean you any harm," John said. "I know you have questions. I have some of my own. Like who were the people attacking you and why. I know you were prisoners. But why were you imprisoned."

"Medical scan first questions later," Rygel said.

"Attention the Peacekeeper Prowler has been secured in the transport hanger," Pilot said his hologram appearing in the clamshell again. "I am keeping the hanger depressurised to stop the pilot getting out."

"First job then should actually be to get that Peacekeeper into a cell," D'Argo said. "Then we can determine the truth about John Crichton here."

"We should lock him up as well," Rygel said. "Until we can perform the scan. Otherwise what assurance do we have that _you_," he looked pointedly at John, "won't hurt us the moment our backs are turned."

"You have my word of honour," John replied. "And in my culture a mans word is his bond. Also there is the fact that Rangers do not lie."

"That is acceptable," D'Argo said. Rygel made as if to object but D'Argo's glare silenced him. "Now we will go and deal with that Peacekeeper."


	4. Chapter Four

****

Chapter Four

****

Peacekeeper Vigilante-class Cruiser

Senior Officer Tauvo Crais stepped eagerly off the Marauder transport that the conveyed him over to the Vigilante-class cruiser _Kraymor_ from his brother Captain Bylar Crais' command carrier _Lendrolla_.

It had been less than an arn since the leviathan transport Moya had escaped from the convoy of originally four enslaved leviathans and its escort of one command carrier and six Vigilante assault cruisers. Tauvo like the rest of his squad had not been happy about the leviathan giving them the slip thanks to is cursed ability to open jump points quickly and to add insult to injury there were the deaths of three members of the Ikarian company of the Pleisar regiment and the disappearance and presumed capture of a fourth.

Well now Tauvo had been given a chance to redeem them and recapture Moya and possibly the unknown alien ship that appeared to have been taken aboard her. The _Lendrolla_ had been able to get a general feel of which direction the fugitive leviathan had gone from the hyperspace probes they routinely deployed before she'd left the probes scanner range, it wasn't much to go on but if gave them a starting point and there were other things to bear in mind. Moya's supplies had been low – it was the same on the three enslaved leviathans remaining in the convoy – they would need to resurply and soon especially since the fugitives on board would try a long flight from the Peacekeepers and would probably not go down without a fight. It was therefore logical to assume they would head for a commerce planet in one of the surrounding sectors. There were a total of twenty four commerce planets within thirty light cycles of here Moya would head for one of nine of them the other fifteen either had Peacekeeper garrisons on or near them.

That wasn't to say that Tauvo didn't have his work cut out for him. Nine systems was a lot of space to search with a single ship – his brother could spare no more from the escort squadron without compromising the convoys protection in these volatile outlying sectors – but he would try his best and quietly hope he got lucky though he knew that his brother had sent out messages to those few Peacekeeper informants that there were on the independent commerce planets to keep an eye out for the fugitive leviathan. Not that that would help much since those informants – mercenaries and other undesirables – were not the most reliable lot in the galaxy. But they had no choice but to try and find Moya at one of the planets. Looking for her in hyperspace was futile since leviathans didn't necessarily have to use the hyperspace beacons to find there way through hyperspace. Through a mechanism no one really understood – except for perhaps the Pilots that livid in symbiosis with the sentient biomechanoid ships – leviathans could navigate hyperspace as easily as normal space. They had a kind of sense that let them know precisely where they were in hyperspace in relation to normal space. Peacekeeper R & D had been trying to understand and duplicate the leviathan's transpatial sense for cycles – the tactical advantages it would bring over their enemies, especially the Scarrens, would be enormous – but had so far had no success. 

The _Kraymor's _commanding officer Lieutenant Veraz came up to greet his temporary superior officer. Captain Crais had told him in no uncertain terms that he would retain general command of the _Kraymor_ but that Tauvo would be in charge of the retrieval part of the mission. Though he was inwardly irked at having to differ to an officer of junior rank on anything he knew better than to argue with a superior. That was not a very good thing for ones carrier or ones continued health – you could easily get chucked in an Aurora Chair for doing that if not worse.

"Sir," Veraz said approaching Tauvo. "Were ready to leave the fleet on your order."

"Very well get us underway for the first commerce planet on our target list. Time is of the essence High Command wants that leviathan recaptured quickly."

"I understand sir." Veraz tapped his comm unit and gave an order to the bridge. A microt later the deck beneath them shivered as power to the engines was increased and the Vigilante picked up speed away from the fleet which was cruising at the maximum speed for the three leviathans in the fleet rather than the maximum speed for the Peacekeeper warships escorting them.

As Tauvo and Veraz walked to the bridge lights through the _Kraymor _dimmed as all but essential power was transferred from the main reactor to the jump engines – Vigilantes were the smallest Peacekeeper ships equipped with them. A jump point burst into existence in front of the _Kraymor_ and the Vigilante transited to hyperspace and began its pursuit of the fugitive leviathan Moya.

*****

****

Moya

A Short Time Earlier

John Crichton followed D'Argo, Rygel and the Delvian woman that Rygel had called Zhaan, off of Moya's bridge back towards the transport hanger that he had so recently left. He hadn't paid much attention to the interior of the ship on his way to the bridge having been shepherded along by the little robots that had 'greeted' him when he'd been brought on board, but now he observed the interior of the ship with keen inquisitive eyes – the scientist in him coming to the fore pushing the warrior part aside now that he no longer seemed to be in danger.

Walking through the ship John wasn't really surprised by the lack of mechanical components visible. He'd gotten used to that during his Ranger training when he'd been assigned to the Victory destroyer _Faithful Protector_ for field training. But he was surprised that aside from the background humm of Moya's engines there was no sound at all aside from organic sounding noises that the ship periodically made. On most ships that John had been on from small shuttles and flyers right up to giant warships like the _Faithful Protector _and his fathers flagship the _Independence_ you could usually hear electronic or other mechanical sounds – the normal sounds of a ship talking to itself. But here on Moya there was none of that. Another thing that caught John's attention was that the bulkheads, ceiling and deck all looked more like they'd been grown and not built. Something in the smooth curves and ribbing lining the gold coloured walls indicated to him that they had indeed been grown. All being said John was impressed with this ship, very impressed.

"This ship is impressive," John admitted. "What kind is it?"

"Moya's a leviathan," Zhaan explained. "She's a biomechanoid. She is a living sentient being."

"What is her purpose? Somehow I doubt leviathans are meant to be prison ships," John asked.

"Leviathans are meant to be peaceful beasts of burden," Zhaan replied. "Most are cargo ships but some are used by other races for exploration of new sectors of space, they use the leviathans trait of being able to navigate hyperspace without hyperspace beacons to chart new areas."

"That's impossible," John replied. "Without jump beacons a ship would swiftly become hopelessly lost in hyperspace."

"Leviathans can navigate hyperspace without beacons. They have a sense that no one really understands that allows them to chart there position in normal space relative to hyperspace at all times while in hyperspace. A transpatial sense if you will," D'Argo responded giving the 'Human' an assessing gaze surprised by the nature of the questions he was asking. Did he not know of leviathans? Were there none where he came from? Assuming of course that he wasn't lying, though D'Argo had personally more or less concluded that John Crichton was no Peacekeeper – not even a special directorate disrupter – too many things about him didn't add up. The fact that Crichton hadn't killed him when he had the chance was one thing that convinced D'Argo that he was telling the truth as far as he knew. A Peacekeeper – disrupter or not – would not have spared him.

"Amazing," John commented in response to D'Argo's words. "Who builds leviathans?"

"Leviathans are not built they grow," Zhaan replied. "Leviathans mate and bear young just like all living things. No one knows who created the first leviathans but whoever they were they disappeared long ago." _Probably one of the First Ones then_, John thought but didn't say anything as Zhaan continued speaking. "But leviathans continue to thrive and increase in numbers. Sadly there are few leviathans left free these days. Many have been enslaved by the Peacekeepers just like Moya was." 

Hearing that John was both appalled and morally outraged. His species had banned slavery hundreds of years ago – the whole notion was morally utterly repugnant to most Humans these days. Most species in his part of the universe thought the same and with the creation of the Interstellar Alliance after the Shadow War the practice was dying out in those places where it had survived. The fact that the Peacekeepers did still practice slavery disgusted him. _Don't judge the Peacekeepers just yet John_, he reminded himself, _while you personally despise the very notion of slavery it isn't your place to judge them. And bear in mind you are hearing about the Peacekeepers from escaped prisoners. There bound to only say bad things about their former captors. You are Anla'shok and as such you must keep an open mind about the Peacekeepers._

He didn't have time to reply for at that moment they reached the maintenance bay next to the hanger. The big doors to the hanger proper were closed at the moment since the hanger currently had no atmosphere.

"Pilot restore atmosphere to the transport hanger," D'Argo said. The holographic image of the Pilot appeared in a clamshell on the wall nearby.

"I have already pressurised the bay D'Argo," Pilot replied. "Internal scanners show that the Peacekeeper currently in the Prowler is unconscious. I suspect he or she was knocked out during the jump to hyperspace. I will open the doors now."

For a second nothing happened then a gap appeared in the wall formed by the door and the massive door began to slowly slide away to the left. Within seconds the door was almost completely open. The first thing in they bay that grabbed the attention of D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel was the sight of the _Farscape_ up close, the sapphire blue bio-armoured hull caught the bays lights and broke the light up into its component colours here and there making small rainbows shimmering over the hulls sleek smooth curves and lines. In terms of appearance the _Farscape_ was far more elegant than the ships they normally saw save for leviathans.

"Impressive looking ship," Rygel said. "What kind is it?"

"We do not have time to question John about his ship your eminence," D'Argo said those last two words in a teasing tone. "We came here to deal with the Peacekeeper Prowler pilot. I suggest we do so before he or she wakes up."

"Agreed," Zhaan said. To John's relief Rygel didn't speak again. For John didn't want to be put in the position of potentially having to reveal things about Interstellar Alliance technology to people he didn't know that well yet. He didn't want them to know the details of any of the advanced technologies that there were on the _Farscape_, since he didn't know them well enough yet to trust that they would not exploit or misuse it. To tell them about it now would be both foolish and dangerous. He would tell them a bit about the Interstellar Alliance if they asked about it, and he'd tell them what being a Ranger actually meant but that would be it.

"Before we tackle this Peacekeeper of yours," John said. "It would be best to have more weapons with us than one denn'bok."

"Denn'bok?" D'Argo questioned wondering what the 'Human' meant by that term. Then the realisation dawned. "You mean that staff of yours."

"Yes."

"Don't worry too much John," Zhaan said. "The DRD's have small pulse blasters." To illustrate Zhaan's point the three or four little robots buzzing around the maintenance bay approached and each extended small weapons identical to the ones they'd threatened John with earlier.

For a second John contemplated going back aboard the _Farscape_ and getting either a neutron blaster or a PPG but then decided against it. If the Peacekeeper were unconscious then they would hopefully not need to use any weapons at all. And if he or she did start waking up then he did know a lot of unarmed combat moves both from Ranger training and from some judo that his mother had taught him when he was a child and being bullied in school.

With the DRD's covering them John and D'Argo advanced on the Peacekeeper Prowler-class fighter Zhaan and Rygel hung back since Zhaan as a priest and Rygel as a deposed emperor had no combat training or experience whereas D'Argo and John did.

As he approached the Prowler John gave it a thorough once over. The craft was sleek and aerodynamically designed obviously designed to fly both in space and in atmosphere just like Centauri Sentri-class fighters were. Naturally the design was unfamiliar to him but it did have an air of menace and power about it and as he'd seen them flying during their attack on Moya he knew them to be as manoeuvrable as a Starfury.

In seconds they were besides the Prowler's cockpit with its blackened windows. D'Argo keyed a control on the side and the hatch raised with a hiss. Inside a uniformed figure in black helmet and vacuum suit sat head and hands hanging limp and lifeless. The pilot was being held in place by restraints that were almost identical to those in a Starfury. Quickly John reached in and undid the straps. As soon as his hand was clear from doing that D'Argo reached in and first removed a large pistol from a holster on the Peacekeepers side and then with his great Luxan strength lifted the Peacekeeper out carefully. There was no reaction at all from the Peacekeeper.

"Let's get this Peacekeeper to a cell," D'Argo said. "Let's see how this Peacekeeper likes being locked up."

*****

****

Lab Section

Maintenance Bay, A Short Time Later

John sat patiently waiting and making occasional small talk with D'Argo while Zhaan analysed the results of some tests that she'd run on John just him and D'Argo had gotten back from securing the Peacekeeper in one of the many empty but undamaged cells that there were on Moya.

Zhaan looked up from the analysis machines.

"I have completed my analysis," she said to her waiting audience of four – four because Pilot's hologram was watching from the clamshell on the wall.

"And," D'Argo prompted.

"Appearances aside John Crichton is not Sebacean," Zhaan replied. "There are a number of biological similarities but there are also a number of differences. Most are subtle differences but there are a few big differences. The differences are far to many for Humans and Sebaceans to be the same race though they are close enough genetically for viable offspring to be produced." John breathed a quiet sigh of relief at Zhaan's prognosis. He was beginning to actually like the people around him and he would hate for them to have thrown him in a cell now for lying to them. Albeit inadvertently.

"What kind of differences," D'Argo asked.

"As I said most of the differences are minor," Zhaan replied. "Slightly different structure to some of his cells variations in organ placement that sort of thing. But the biggest difference is a fundamental difference. All the variations point to the fact that John here is warm blooded and his bodies able to regulate its own core temperature."

"Why does that surprise you," John asked in curiosity the scientist part of him winning again over the warrior part.

"Because Sebaceans are cold blooded literally," D'Argo replied. "Though they are not reptilian like Scarrens. Sebacean bodies cannot regulate their core temperature if it rises by even a few degrees they rapidly descend into a comatose state known as heat delirium or the living death as they sometimes call it as it's a state from which they can never recover once a certain point has been reached." John couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine at the thought of such a death state.

Rygel abruptly turned his throne sled away and began to leave.

"Where are you going Rygel," Zhaan demanded.

"To get some of my possessions from where the Peacekeepers locked them away," the Hynerian royal replied then he left. After a second Zhaan and D'Argo followed him to retrieve there own possessions. D'Argo especially wanted to feel the weight of his Qualta blade on his back again. 

John followed along behind although he had no possessions to reclaim he was curious about what there possessions might be and truth be told he wanted to see a little more of this strange living ship that he found himself on.


	5. Chapter Five

****

Chapter Five

****

Sometime Later

John Crichton wandered the corridors of Moya unaccompanied by anyone. The others hadn't minded or objected when he's said he was going for a walk for a bit. They'd been able to tell that today had not been an easy day for him – though they still had no idea just what had happened to John altogether today – and knew he probably needed some time alone to think. So they'd let him wander off on his own.

So now here he was wandering down Moya's corridors heading for nowhere in particular – except perhaps looking for a place to meditate in peace for awhile though if push came to shove he could always go back aboard the _Farscape_ for that. John supposed he should really go back to his ship to check on the repairs which should have been completed by now and maybe analyse her sensor logs though he already suspected what had happened. He suspected that the enormous electromagnetic wave and radiation spike caused by the eruption of that massive solar flare from the surface of one of Lanaro's twin suns had somehow interacted with the micro wormholes. Which somehow had caused one of the wormholes to briefly expand from the approximately soccer ball sized rift that it had been into a larger wormhole the size of a small jump point. Which the _Farscape_ with its gravimetric engines knocked temporarily off line hadn't been able to evade and instead became caught in the anomalies powerful but localised gravity field and been pulled in only to be spat out somewhere else in the galaxy. After all the galaxy was a large place and the space that was known to Humans, Minbari and other ISA races although vast to them was small on the scale of the whole galaxy. Which meant that John could be lost anywhere in the vast expanse of the galaxy with little or no hope of getting home again.

A sudden soft groan caught his attention and John realised with a faint jolt of surprise that he was just down the corridor from the cell where they'd put the Peacekeeper pilot. From the sound of it the Peacekeeper was just starting to wake up or had just woken up. Moya's Pilot had given him one of their comm units when he'd followed Zhaan, Rygel and D'Argo to the Pilot's den earlier so they could actually meet the Pilot who livid in symbiosis with Moya, acting as navigator, companion, system manager and the main interface point between the sentient starship and those within her. It was an arrangement that fascinated the scientist part of John's personality and he wondered how exactly it had come about. He could see him and Pilot having a number of discussions in the number about the exact nature of the bond between leviathan and Pilot. 

Activating the comm unit John spoke to Pilot.

"Pilot."

"Yes Crichton," Pilot replied.

"I'm just outside the cell where we put the Peacekeeper. From the sound I just heard I think he or she has just woken up."

"I will inform the others," Pilot replied. "If you go in there to check I would suggest that you be on your guard. Peacekeepers can be devious when they need to be." John heard the unspoken part of that clearly and that was Pilot saying _especially when they want to escape._

"I'll be careful Pilot," John responded before turning the comm off and he headed down the corridor to the Peacekeepers cell arriving barely seconds later.

The Peacekeeper was on its feet looking around the room it found itself in. The emergency breathing equipment and helmet had been taken off by the Peacekeeper and was lying in the corner out of the way.

At that moment the Peacekeeper seemed to realise that someone was watching and spun around and despite what he had been told about Sebaceans John was surprised by what he saw. The Peacekeeper was a woman, a very Human-looking woman, and a beautiful one at that. When she saw him the Peacekeeper looked equally surprised at least for a moment and then her features hardened into a impassive mask and she gave him a look of cool superiority.

*****

****

A Few Moments Earlier

Officer Aeryn Sun groaned as consciousness returned to her. What had happened to her? The last thing she remembered was starting a firing pass on the escaping leviathan transport Moya when her Prowlers sensors had picked up a massive surge and transfer of energy within the leviathan. She remembered the sharp order from Senior Officer Tauvo Crais for the assault squad to get clear that the leviathan was about to open a jump point. She remembered her Prowler jerking violently as it got caught in the energy wash of Moya's engines but that was all she remembered.

Cautiously she opened her eyes to see that she wasn't in her Prowler and drifting in hyperspace at the mercy of the gravitational eddies and currents that pervaded that other space which was so vital in interstellar travel. Instead she was lying on a gold coloured bio metal floor, clearly she was on board the leviathan and being held captive. The escaping prisoners must have brought her on board so she could provide them with information. Something she had no intention of doing, no matter how much they tortured her.

Getting to her feet she removed the helmet she was still wearing and her emergency breathing gear – its charge would have been almost expended by now anyway – and put them in a neat pile in the corner where it wouldn't be in the way. Reflexively she checked for her pulse pistol naturally it wasn't there. Then she looked around checking out her surroundings looking for any way out aside from the bars at the front of the room. There was a small ventilation port at floor level just big enough for a DRD to get through but there was nothing else. _Makes sense,_ she thought, _what's the point of putting an enemy in a cell that they can easily escape from._

Abruptly she became aware that someone was standing observing her. Aeryn spun around and what she saw surprised her to no end. Standing on the other side of the bars was a Sebacean male dressed in a strange uniform with a large jewelled pin on one side of his chest. The uniform was of a design she had never seen before, it definitely wasn't a Peacekeeper uniform nor did it match the design and colouration of the uniforms worn by the Sebacean Royal Colonies Defence Force.

Quickly she gave the man an assessing gaze sizing him up as a potential opponent. He was a handsome man by Sebacean standards and from the way he filled out his uniform was powerfully built and probably fully capable of holding his own in a fight. He had the air of a soldier yet there was something else there as well, something that said he was different kind of warrior to the ones she was used to. Something that Aeryn couldn't put her finger on.

Seeing this strange but handsome man here at all was a major shock since this transport hadn't been carrying any Sebacean prisoners let alone anyone with military training – the only warrior on board had been a single Luxan prisoner. And the man couldn't be a member of the skeleton crew there had been on board since those who hadn't been killed when the prisoners escaped their cells had fled to the _Lendrolla_ in one of the transport pods.

Quickly Aeryn marshalled her features clamping down on her emotions as she was trained to do. According to Peacekeeper doctrine allowing your emotions to rule was a sign of weakness. And promptly gave the stranger the normal cool Peacekeeper look the look that said 'I am superior to you in everyway.'

"Who are you," she quietly demanded to know simultaneously deciding to treat him for the moment as a Peacekeeper possibly helping the enemy. "Why are you not in proper uniform? What is your rank and regiment? Rank and regiment now."

John gave the Peacekeeper an assessing gaze while a part of him quietly wished to go in there and wipe that arrogant superior look off her face. He had seen it too many times in his childhood on the faces of former President Clark's fascist cronies. When his father had been declared a traitor by the Ministry of Peace for siding with then Captain John Sheridan – dad had been a fighter pilot initially posted on the EAS _Churchill_ but transferred to Babylon Five when the _Churchill_ was destroyed during the battle for Babylon Five, a battle only ended when White Star Prime and a fleet of Minbari war cruisers commanded by then Ambassador Delenn intervened on B5's behalf driving Clark's second assault wave off before a shot could be fired – eight year old John, his sister and their mother had been practically put under house arrest. They hadn't been able to go out or go to school without Clark's Nightwatch enforcers watching them and making them feel like prisoners in there own home. During those years they hadn't been able to see or speak to dad at all but they didn't blame him all their anger had been directed at Clark – mom had made sure of it, after the Civil War the reunion with dad at long last had been very emotional and a time of healing for all of them. But even now twenty years later John had never been able to forgive or forget Clark and his people for putting them through two years of hell, two years that had scarred all of them.

Seeing the arrogance in the Peacekeeper females cool gaze brought all the unpleasant memories of that time – of a family ripped in two by the tyranny of President Clark – flooding back into John's mind. Falling back on his Ranger training John pushed those memories and the unpleasant emotions associated with them away so they would not cloud his judgement now.

"Your in a poor position to be making demands don't you think," John asked and for the life of her Aeryn could not place his accent. "But I tell you what Peacekeeper. If you tell me who you are then I'll tell you who I am."

Aeryn considered that for a moment before deciding it couldn't do any harm. As long as this man didn't try and use the conversation to find out information about the Peacekeepers. If she could learn a little about this stranger from talking this way with him then it would be worth it. After all it was a possibility that he could have been the occupant of the unknown ship that the squad had observed being brought on board Moya, a ship that the sensors on their Prowlers hadn't been able to scan as it had some sort of stealth technology that made it invisible to active scans and hard to detect even on passive scans. No race known to the Peacekeepers had stealth technology that was impervious to their sensors yet whoever built that ship did. Was it possible that the man before her represented that civilisation wherever it was, whoever they were? She needed to find out and get that information back to Peacekeeper High Command which would want to know as much as possible about this new – possibly Sebacean-looking – race and there technology as soon as possible. And the easiest way to get that information would be to get the stranger to trust her.

"Very well," she agreed. "I am Officer Aeryn Sun, special Peacekeeper commando, Ikarian company, Pleisar regiment. Identify yourself?"

"Anla'shok John Crichton," John replied ignoring the tone of Aeryn Sun's voice. "Interstellar Alliance. And before you ask I'm not Sebacean. My species is known as Humans."

Despite herself Aeryn was surprised to learn that John wasn't a Sebacean. True there were other races out there that bore some surface resemblance to Sebaceans but none had ever been this close. Looking at John it was impossible to tell that he wasn't Sebacean. _If he's not Sebacean then he's just another lower life form and I should treat him as such,_ Aeryn thought, _but what does Anla'shok mean? And what is this Interstellar Alliance?_

"What does Anla'shok mean," she asked. "And what is this Interstellar Alliance." 

"I'm a Ranger," John replied. "We walk in the dark places where no one else will enter. We stand on the bridge and no one may pass. We live for the One, we die for the One." _What does he mean by that,_ Aeryn thought, _these Rangers are obviously some kind of military. But what does he mean by this One. Who is the One?_

"Who is the One?" John just smiled at her and deep inside beneath her Peacekeeper ingrained emotional suppression Aeryn felt a strange surge of warmth at his smile.

"If you think I am going to give you that kind of information Officer Sun you a sorely mistaken." Despite herself Aeryn was pleased by the Humans answer. He obviously wasn't going to divulge information of any potential real military use.

"A good answer. It is never a good thing to divulge military or strategic information to an enemy," Aeryn said.

"True but you are not my enemy Officer Sun," John replied. "If you were I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. But neither are you a friend. I do not know enough about you Peacekeepers to decide if I should consider you an enemy or a friend. Yet."

Listening to John's words gave Aeryn an idea. If she could convince him somehow that the Peacekeepers were a force for good in this part of the galaxy – keeping order and protecting the weak – that the things the escaped prisoners had undoubtedly told him were lies or only partial truths then maybe he would help her escape and maybe even cooperate with the Peacekeepers giving them information about his people, this Interstellar Alliance, their technology level, military capabilities and so forth. Intelligence that would be invaluable to the Peacekeepers when they encountered the Interstellar Alliance wherever it was in the galaxy.

Before she could say anything else two additional figures arrived outside the cell. One was the Luxan prisoner whose name she believed to be D'Argo the other was the Delvian Pa'u Zotah Zhaan.

"Ah good your awake," Zhaan said coming to stand besides John near to the bared door of the cell. "A problem my dear you should be used to seeing the likes of us behind bars. Now though the situation is reversed."

"I won't tell you anything," Aeryn replied.

"Perhaps," Zhaan answered. "We will discuss that later. But first it is time for us to eat." John gave the Delvian a curious look.

"Eat what," he asked wondering what passed for food on ships around here and hoping it wasn't as bad as some of the things that passed for food on some starships in his part of the galaxy.

"Food cubes," D'Argo replied. "Granted they're not the most appetising things in the galaxy but they are all we have."

"Then it will have to do," John answered.

With that D'Argo disappeared for a moment and returned with a set of handcuffs. He glared at Aeryn Sun through the bars of her cell.

"Step away from the door Peacekeeper," he growled. Aeryn glared back at the Luxan but did as she was told. D'Argo opened the door to the cell and went inside and roughly handcuffed Aeryn.

"Are those really necessary," John asked. "Were still in hyperspace even if Officer Sun here wanted to escape she couldn't go anywhere since I don't think any of the transports you've got stored in the hanger or her Prowler are jump capable, so unless were near a jump gate she would have nowhere to go."

"Perhaps not," D'Argo admitted as he finished handcuffing Aeryn. "But I have spent eight degrading cycles a prisoner of her kind on this ship. I will not let them take me prisoner again through carelessness or taking unnecessary risks." He checked the handcuffs Aeryn was wearing were tight he shoved her violently in the direction of the door. "Move Peacekeeper," he growled.

John's eyes narrowed slightly in a physical manifestation of his dislike of the way D'Argo was treating Aeryn. D'Argo didn't notice as he harshly manhandled Aeryn from the room and off down the corridor.

"It isn't necessary to treat her that way," he said softly to Zhaan who had stayed with him. Zhaan put a calming hand on his arm.

"Maybe not," she admitted. "But you must understand. Those of us here aside from you have all been imprisoned by the Peacekeepers for a long time and you have to expect that that would spawn hostility."

"I understand that Zhaan," John replied turning to look at Zhaan. "I can understand what's motivating D'Argo more than you realise. But that doesn't make treating Officer Sun like she's a speck of dirt on the deck right."

"Maybe you are right," Zhaan replied all the while wondering what might have happened to John Crichton in the past for him to be able to understand some of what they were feeling about the Peacekeeper. "How did you know the Peacekeepers name? Are you telepathic or something like that?"

"No she told me," John replied. "Some of my species are telepathic though. It's the same with many of the species in my part of the galaxy. The Vorlons saw to that. The only exception is the Narns their telepaths were all killed over a thousand years ago by the Shadows."

For a moment Zhaan considered asking John who these Vorlons and Shadows were. The latter especially did not sound very pleasant. But somehow she knew that it would be a long and complicated story so she didn't ask. Now was not the time for that kind of discussion. But she was very curious about who these Vorlons and Shadows were, in fact she was curious about John and all the races that there were in whatever part of the galaxy he came from. She would ask him at a more opportune time.

"Come we should go to the mess room ourselves," she said. "Rygel is already there and Hynerians are well known for being gluttons if we want to eat we better get there before he claims the lions share of the food." 

With that Zhaan left the room and after a moment John followed her towards the mess where he could both eat and make sure that Aeryn Sun ate as well and ate in peace without being bothered by the bitter and resentful Luxan Ka D'Argo.


	6. Chapter Six

****

Chapter Six

****

Guest Quarters

EAS Independence 

On Route To Earth, That Same Time

DK sat quietly before a computer terminal in the guest quarters that he had been assigned aboard the _Independence_ quietly reviewing the sensor logs of both the _Independence_ and the two White Stars that had accompanied them to the Lanaro system. He was especially focusing his attention on the moments just before the _Farscape_ vanished and been presumed destroyed. Something about it just didn't feel right to him, and it wasn't just the fact that John was dead. DK was a firm believer in hunches so he was painstakingly reviewing the data that there sensors had gathered.

He had been at this for hours now but he was determined not to give up, he knew there was something here. Something that they had missed earlier. As he watched the few seconds of the solar flares eruption and the supposed destruction of the _Farscape_ again something abruptly caught his eye.

"Computer freeze image," he ordered. The image on the screen froze at the moment of the blinding flash of light caused by igniting radiation and exploding pieces of stellar matter pumped out from the star by the solar flare. "Rewind frame by frame to time index six one four." Slowly frame-by-frame the image moved backwards until DK saw what had caught his eye. 

"Stop." The image froze. "Display sector grid." A set of horizontal and vertical lines appeared over the image. "Magnify these two sections and enhance." DK tapped two of the boxes formed by the intersecting lines. The computer immediately complied. _Bingo_, he thought as he looked at the image of the _Farscape_ disappearing into a shimmering blue vortex that looked nothing at all like a jump point, John hadn't tried to jump out the anomaly was the wrong colour anyway. Outgoing jump points were orange only incoming jump points were blue. If the vortex wasn't a jump point then DK could think of only one thing that it could be.

It was a wormhole.

For a second after the revelation DK was shocked into silence. Then the reality dawned on him. The _Farscape_ hadn't been destroyed, somehow one of the wormholes had mutated to a larger size and pulled the ship in. Then he realised another thing if the _Farscape_ was intact – if she'd survived passage through the wormhole which he didn't doubt she would since the Minbari built things so well, then John was very likely to be alive. Quickly he retrieved a blank data crystal from a drawer and put it in the computers crystal port.

Quickly he punched in commands saving the data and his findings and transferring them to the crystal.

"Computer open a comm channel to General Crichton's quarters," he ordered.

"Unable to comply General Crichton is not accepting personal calls," the computer replied.

"Fine," DK said retrieving the data crystal from its port. "Then I'll go see him in person. Computer where are General Crichton's chambers." Until two weeks ago he hadn't set foot on board a warship since he'd left Earth Force several years ago, and back when he'd been in Earth Force the Firebrand-class hadn't yet been commissioned with only the prototype EAS _Firebrand_ in existence. Even having been on the _Independence_ for two weeks had still hadn't completely figured out where everything was aboard the massive warship.

"Deck twelve section seventy nine," the computer replied promptly. _In other words three decks up and deeper in towards the core of the ship,_ DK thought. His quarters were in section twenty-four on deck fifteen quiet close to the inner hull wall. 

Picking up the data crystal DK left his quarters and headed for the closest lift. Once he got to deck twelve he would take one of the internal transport tubes to get to section seventy-nine.

*****

****

Jack Crichton's Quarters

General Jack Crichton sat on the settee a small photo album on his lap that he was slowly looking through. He'd started this album when the first of his three children Alison had been born though he'd only started taking it on board ship with him when he'd been given command of the Warlock-class destroyer _Ulysses_ just before the Drakh War began. Flipping through the pages he could see his children age from being newborn babies to adults. There were even pictures in here of them during the two years of their lives that he'd missed thanks to President Clark – something he couldn't and wouldn't ever forgive Clark and all his cronies for.

Naturally at the moment he paid the most attention to the photos of John from the first photo of him in here when they'd brought him home from the hospital to the last photo of him in the book taken just three months ago at Olivia's wedding. In that photo John was dressed in the traditional suit for a wedding, the only difference in his case being he was still wearing his Ranger badge. With a smile Jack remembered the day that John had been awarded that pin after completing Ranger training. Families were permitted to attend the award ceremony and Jack along with his wife and John sisters had been present in Tuzanor they'd all been proud of John that day, Jack especially. He would have liked John to have gone to the Earth Force Academy when he was a teenager, but John hadn't wanted to he'd been focused on going to university and eventually getting a doctorate in astrophysics and hyperspace mechanics. After he'd gotten his doctorate John had still felt compelled to serve but by then he'd been to old to join Earth Force, so he'd joined the Anla'shok instead. And no one had been more proud than Jack when John had completed his training and been formally qualified as a Ranger by the then Entil'zha John Sheridan.

The door to his quarter's bleep and Jack jumped before giving the door an annoyed look. He'd given Captain Roberts strict orders that he was not to be disturbed except in case of emergency like a red alert (which was unlikely since few races had the firepower to even think about challenging the _Independence_) or if a call came in for him from Earth Dome or from home. The door bleeped again and Jack sighed he supposed he should let whoever it was in. And if it were a member of the crew who didn't have a good reason to be here he would give them a right old tounge lashing for disturbing him.

"Enter," he called. 

The door opened and Jack was surprised when DK stepped through looking almost happy. It wasn't something that Jack would have expected to see considering that John and DK had been best friends since they were kids. He would have expected DK to be distraught over the death of his friend.

"What can I do for you DK," Jack asked.

"Nothing I've got something to show you," DK held up the data crystal that he'd been carrying in his right hand. He moved over to the computer terminal and inserted the crystal into the port. Jack followed him over.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Ever since we left the Lanaro system I've been going over our sensor logs of John's flight. Especially the part when…well you know," DK replied. "As I looked over them something didn't seem quiet right so I've examined them in more detail. And this is what I found. Jack the _Farscape_ wasn't destroyed John's most likely to be still alive."

"What do you mean," Jack asked faint butterflies of hope starting to flutter in his stomach at the thought that John might still be alive replaced the depression that had sunk over him and the ache deep in his chest.

"I'll show you," DK replied then activated the computer terminal and played the part that he wanted Jack to see and then he showed him the magnified sections which showed the _Farscape_ tumbling into one of the wormholes that had somehow got larger right before the bits of stellar matter collided and radiation ignited producing the blinding fusion flash that had led them to believe the _Farscape_ had been destroyed. "It happened so fast that I only really noticed this when I played the image back one frame at a time. As you can see right before the stellar fragments collided producing the fusion blast the _Farscape_ was sucked into one of the wormholes, the electromagnetic wave from the solar flare must have somehow caused one of them to get larger. A wormhole which pulled the _Farscape_ in ironically saving it from destruction in the fusion detonation, even at full strength the _Farscape's_ shields would have been hard pressed to deflect and dissipate that much energy with the shields already stressed by the electromagnetic wave and radiation spike from the solar flare they would have had no chance at all. The _Farscape_ would have been incinerated."

"Do you have any idea where John could have ended up," Jack asked looking at the image on the screen intently.

"I'm afraid not. The wormhole could have spat him out anywhere in the galaxy. We might be able to get some idea of where through an in depth analysis of the sensor logs and the last bits of telemetry sent from the _Farscape_ but that will take some time and will require far more sensitive equipment than what we have here. The only equipment sensitive enough for that is back on Earth or on Minbar." Jack considered for a few moments.

"Prepare a full write up of everything that you've found," he said to DK. "This ship will reach Earth in just under four days. Have the write up and supporting evidence ready by the time we make our final jump into Earth orbit."

"And then what," DK asked. Jack turned to look at him with a determined look in his brown eyes.

"Then we will present it to both EarthGov and Earth Force Command and the Interstellar Alliance as well and see if we can convince them to help get my son back. Assuming of course that we can find where the _Farscape _ended up."

"That won't be easy," DK replied. "It might even be impossible. There is so much that we do not know about wormholes. But for John's sake we have to try. If you'll excuse me I'll get started on the write up." Jack nodded permission and DK retrieved the data crystal from its port making the terminal screen go blank again before leaving the room.

After DK left the room Jack walked back over to the settee and sat down again before once more picking up his photo album before flipping through and finding a picture of John. A picture taken on the day that John had formally become a Ranger and looking proud in his uniform with the Ranger broach proudly displayed on the left hand side of his chest. _Hang on John wherever you are,_ Jack thought looking at the picture, _now I know that your still alive I'll find you and bring you home. No matter how long it takes, no matter where I have to go or what I have to do I will find you and bring you home again._


	7. Chapter Seven

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Chapter Seven

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Moya

A Short Time Later

John Crichton stood on Moya's command deck standing face to face with the massive front screen on which a planet rotated lazily below them. The planet was wrapped in thick clouds that obscured everything from view a single large point of brightness in the cloud in the northern hemisphere indicated the location of the planets capital – and only – city. A host of spacecraft of every description filled the planets orbit with small shuttles and flyers buzzing around amongst them. The spacecraft swarm was a familiar scene to him – even if the ships in orbit were all of unfamiliar – and to his eyes somewhat strange – configurations – it was something you would see in orbit of practically any inhabited world in the Interstellar Alliance.

They had entered orbit of this planet just under half an hour – arn John mentally corrected himself for umpteenth time – ago. While she could have jumped out of hyperspace on her own they'd come in through the local jump gate, which most ships had to use to jump in and out of hyperspace, and spent a quarter arn cruising leisurely into orbit, not giving any outward sign that they were in a hurry. Since entering orbit they had been trying to get permission from the planets orbital control to come down to the surface. If he listened carefully John could hear Zhaan and Rygel still speaking to orbital control but he wasn't really that interested in what they were saying.

Instead he simply watched the ships sharing there orbit. There were so many designs around here and he noticed uneasily that most seemed to have at least some weapons emplacements. Seeing the weapons sprouted by most of the ships here made him feel more than a little vulnerable and exposed since Moya had no weapons of her own not even light pulse lasers to defend herself. Instead for defence Moya relied on her speed and manoeuvrability, her ability to open jump points quickly and a low level gravimetric defence field similar to those that had been employed by a number of alliance races before they'd successfully retro engineered the energy shield technology of the First Ones. Sitting here in orbit as they were Moya was severely handicapped in the defence department without weapons.

D'Argo came into the command at that moment in time having just returned from making sure Aeryn Sun was still securely confined in her cell, if the Peacekeeper were to escape now she would have a good chance of getting off Moya and alerting the Peacekeepers to there location. Fortunately she was secure and had spent the whole time just glaring at D'Argo while having the normal arrogant superior look of all Peacekeepers on her face. D'Argo had itched to go into that cell and teach her some humility but he'd restrained himself they wouldn't get information out of the Peacekeeper if he beat her unconscious and possibly caused serious injury so he'd just glared back while he'd checked to make sure the cell was secure.

Coming into the command D'Argo took in the scene before him. Zhaan and Rygel were still talking to orbital control and looked to be making progress getting them permission to go down to the planet. John Crichton for his part was standing looking at the main screen taking in the ships sharing the orbit of the storm wracked commerce planet with them. Though he was no expert on Human – or even Sebacean for that matter – body language it was obvious the Crichton was feeling uncomfortable probably about the fact that most of the ships around here mounted lasers and Moya didn't. Being on an unarmed ship was obviously not something he was used to but then as a warrior he'd no doubt spent most of his time on a warship surrounding by thick armour and gravimetric shielding and having at his control powerful weapons systems. Though they knew nothing about ISA technology and weaponry D'Argo was willing to gamble that it was very powerful at least equal to Peacekeeper and Scarren weapons if not stronger going on the advanced nature of John's ship. D'Argo understood what he was feeling all to well he shared it. He would take travelling even on a small warship to travelling on a leviathan any day.

Quietly he walked towards John. The Human must have heard him approaching and turned to look in D'Argo's direction acknowledging his presence before looking back out at the space around the ship.

"You're feeling vulnerable aren't you John," D'Argo asked softly coming to a stop beside him.

"Is it that obvious," John asked.

"If you know what to look for," D'Argo replied. "You and I were both out of our element here. We're both soldiers we belong on the deck of a warship not an unarmed ship like a leviathan."

"I'm also a scientist D'Argo but I understand where your coming from," John said in agreement. "I don't like being on an unarmed ship. Even the _Farscape_ has weapons and she's only a modified scout ship."

"What kind of weapons, how powerful are they," D'Argo asked. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." John considered how to answer for a couple of moments.

"I'm not comfortable answering that question at this point in time D'Argo," he admitted. "I don't know you well enough yet." D'Argo nodded in understanding knowing full well that if he was in John's position he would be cautious about discussing the technology on his ship with what was essentially a group of strangers. Still he couldn't help but feel a hint of disappointment that John hadn't told him what kind of weapons his ship was armed with.

For a moment he thought about what little they'd been able to find out about John's ship. Pilot had been scanning it since just after their escape from the Peacekeeper prison convoy and he hadn't been able to find out that much about it. Moya's internal scanners were having difficulty penetrating the hull even though the ships stealth system as far as they could tell was switched off. But what little Pilot had learned had indicated that the _Farscape_ was a very advanced ship – and all he'd really learned was that the ships hull armour was organic in nature and possibly had the ability to adapt to different weapons types so to better withstand the energy of incoming weapons and reduce there effectiveness. Pilot had also learned that the _Farscape_ had two directed energy weapons of unknown kind located on the front of its engine nacelles.

Before either he or John could speak again Zhaan and Rygel finished there conversation with the head of traffic control and Zhaan walked over to inform them.

"Orbital control has given us permission to go down to the surface of the planet," she informed them. "Pilot's preparing a transport pod as we speak." Zhaan paused unsure what to say next. "John I would suggest that you actually come down to the surface in the transport pod with us. Your ship might attract to much attention."

John thought about that for a moment. Zhaan was right the _Farscape_ was so different in design and construction to the ships buzzing around this place that it might well be a good idea to go down to the planet in the transport pod. 

"Very well," he said at last. "But I will put my ship on stand by for automatic launch just in case we have to make a quick getaway."

"A wise precaution," D'Argo agreed. "We might need your ships weapons to get past the Peacekeepers if they show up. Assuming of course that the weapons on your ship are powerful enough to damage Peacekeeper ships."

"They probably are strong enough," John replied evasively while internally smiling. If what he'd seen so far in this part of the galaxy was anything to go by then the pulsed fusion weapons on the _Farscape_ would be powerful enough to inflict heavy damage upon most Peacekeeper vessels – assuming of course that the Peacekeepers didn't have superior technology to everyone else which was a possibility. And even if they did John could still be sure that the Minbari-designed weapons would be powerful enough to damage a Peacekeeper warships defences. Still John hoped he wouldn't have to use the _Farscape's_ weapons since it would reveal too much about his ships capabilities and by inference the capabilities of ISA weaponry to Moya's crew, the Peacekeepers and anyone who happened to be watching. That wasn't to say that he wasn't prepared to use them, he was.

"What are we going to do about the Peacekeeper," D'Argo asked.

"She's secure in her cell D'Argo," Zhaan replied. "She should not be able to get out and Pilot will watch her."

"That will have to do then," D'Argo said reluctantly.

"Attention the transport pod is ready," Pilot abruptly announced from the clamshell on the wall.

"We should go," Zhaan said.

*****

****

Orbital Control Room

That Same Room

The Peacekeeper special directorate disrupter quietly left the orbital control room for the commerce planet and headed back to his quarters. Here he was employed officially as a security guard and now his shift was over and he was going back his quarters. In reality he kept an eye on what happened what undesirables were doing what out here close to the hotly contested region referred to as the Uncharted Territories – though they were actually charted.

Quickly he reached his quarters and secured the door and windows before quickly setting up his communications equipment then switching it on.

"Disrupter 297 to directorate the fugitive leviathan Moya has entered orbit of this planet," he said into the comm unit.

*****

****

Peacekeeper Cruiser Kraymor

A Short Time Later

"Officer Crais," Lieutenant Veraz said coming up to where Tauvo Crais was standing looking out the windows at hyperspace swirling by outside the cruiser.

"Yes," Tauvo asked turning to face him.

"We've received a transmission from the Special Operations directorate. A disrupter assigned to the commerce planet in the Thakeni system has reported that Moya has entered orbit there and is preparing to send a transport pod down to the planet." Tauvo hid a smile. _What wonderful luck,_ Tauvo thought, _were only a few sectors away._

"Adjust course lieutenant. Take us to Thakeni maximum speed. Alert our commando squads to prepare for ship to ship boarding action and possible ground retrieval operations."

"Yes sir."

A few moments later the _Kraymor_ came around and manoeuvred onto the jump beacon for the Thakeni system. Her powerful engines came up to full power and the Peacekeeper cruiser charged towards her new objective intent on running down and capturing her prey.


	8. Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight

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Aeryn Sun's Cell

Moya

Officer Aeryn Sun was starting to get frustrated as she tried to manipulate the locking mechanism on her cell door with a fork that she'd sneak unobserved from dinner. Ever since the Luxan had left her after checking her once last time before going down to the planet she had been determinedly working on the locking mechanism trying to trip it open. It wasn't easy as her people made good locks but she was getting there at a frustrating snails pace and the more time she took the greater the risk that she wouldn't be finished before the others returned and Moya jumped to hyperspace again.

After wrestling with the door control for what seemed like ages the lock released and the door opened. Quickly Aeryn darted out into the corridor before Moya's Pilot noticed that her cell door had been opened. Quickly she left the section where her cell was located to avoid Pilot's inevitable lockdown of that section.

Moving cautiously yet quickly Aeryn moved quickly quietly debating to herself the pros and con's of trying to sabotage Moya to somehow keep the leviathan trapped here. Could she somehow sabotage Moya's gravitic drive unit or the jump engines keep the leviathan from escaping the inevitable Peacekeeper pursuit force. The problem was those systems were hard to get at especially for a being as big as a Sebacean the maintenance conduits to them were meant more for DRD's than humanoids. She could easily find herself cornered by the DRD's and herded back to a cell or simply shot on the spot. Moya's Pilot and the escaped prisoners wouldn't care if she did get shot; the only one who probably would care was Crichton.

Crichton.

Aeryn considered him for a couple of moments. She still wasn't sure quiet what to make of the Human who referred to himself as a Ranger. Truth be told he wasn't her enemy and she got the distinct impression that had he been so he would have been a very dangerous one. He hadn't done anything to harm her and clearly wasn't comfortable with the way she was treated by Moya's crew. He had done nothing that she could consider to be the act of an enemy, but nor had he done anything to qualify him as an ally. Like his people he was a mystery to her and to the Peacekeepers in general. A potentially very dangerous mystery if they and this Interstellar Alliance were as technologically advanced as she suspected. If she got off Moya she would have to advise her superiors to regard Crichton with caution yet try to make him an ally.

After a few moments thought she headed quickly for the transport hanger. She would have to get back to her Prowler quickly before Pilot noticed that she had escaped and locked it down trapping her on board.

*****

She had just reached the lab section adjacent to the transport hanger when Pilot detected her escape. Immediately Pilot began closing the door to the transport hanger. Aeryn immediately began to run hoping to get through before the door closed pulse fire from two DRD's present in the lab area snapping at her heels.

She barely made it through before the door closed sealing the hanger off from the rest of the ship. As soon as she was through she saw the _Farscape_ sitting quiet its blue hull shimmering slightly with a thousand rainbows as the hangers overhead lights played across it. Aeryn examined the exterior of the ship – she couldn't go inside as the hatch was sealed and the boarding ramp retracted. It was a lovely looking ship she would admit that and the two cannons it mounted didn't escape her notice and she wondered what kind of weapons they were and how powerful were they. Curiously she reached up and laid her hand on the hull. It was smooth and from the texture she could tell that it wasn't metal or at least not any metal known to the Peacekeepers. The material of the hull actually felt similar to leviathan bio metal could it be that this Interstellar Alliance had found away to do what Peacekeeper scientists had long believed impossible and developed organic armour. Yet another mystery about this ship for the tech's to uncover when and if they eventually got to examine it.

Abruptly berating herself for allowing the sight of Crichton's ship to distract her she lowered her hand and darted across the bay to where her Prowler was parked. Quickly powering open the canopy she jumped in and began running the automatic pre-flight checks. She was surprised to find that all the Prowlers systems were working – if she'd been one of the escaped prisoners she would have disabled the Prowler to foil any escape attempt not disabling the Prowler showed her that the prisoners were amateurs when it came to this kind of thing.

After closing the canopy Aeryn pulled on a pair of optics and powered up the Prowler's systems, using antigrav thrusters to lift clear of the deck. Her communications unit bleeped as a channel opened.

"Moya and I will not let you go Officer Sun," Pilot told her over the comm. "You will not signal your people of our location. We would rather die than return to your enslavement."

"You cannot stop me Pilot," she replied. "Either you open the hanger bay doors and let me out or a blow away through your precious Moya's hull. And your docking web cannot stop me." Casually she aimed the Prowlers pulse cannon at the docking web emitter unit mounted on its rail and fired. Red energy projectiles impacted the emitter causing it to rain sparks and debris. The emitter being a part of Moya would regenerate in time but until then it was out of commission. Moya convulsed under the fire and Aeryn clearly felt it through a fluctuation in the ships artificial gravity field.

Aeryn paid it no mind and activated the Prowlers main drive and began to travel at low speed along the passage leading to the hanger bay doors. When she saw that the doors were still closed she fired again. Energy bolts scarred the thick living metal and again Moya convulsed beneath her. Reluctantly the hanger bay doors opened allowing her to escape into open space.

As soon as she was out into open space Aeryn swung the Prowler around and shot along Moya's length to the three long tendrils that were the main generator units for Moya's gravitic drive. Taking careful aim she fired at the power lines field projection units, with the drive shut down at the moment there was no defensive gravimetric field to disperse her weapons fire and the full force of the blasts ripped into the projection units main power lines. Sparks and molten fragments rained from the impact points, blinding arcs of light crackled between the three tendrils in a blizzard of searing energy triggering tiny secondary explosions wherever the brilliant plasma forks touched. Though the damage looked spectacular it actually wasn't that bad Aeryn knew. The projection units hadn't been destroyed just damaged, destroying the gravitic field projectors would take more firepower than what a Prowler mounted. Moya's engines would continue to function but at a vastly reduced efficiency until the leviathan could regenerate the damaged systems. Moya would only be able to make a fifth of her normal cruising speed and at such a slow speed she would not be able to escape the Peacekeeper squad that Aeryn would summon to recover her.

Satisfied with the damage she'd inflicted on the leviathan Aeryn swung the Prowler down towards the planet and prepared to enter the atmosphere. As soon as she got down to the planet she would do her best to stop the escaped prisoners from escaping again. A brief smile graced her face as she imagined how Captain Crais would reward her if his retrieval units arrived and found she'd already recaptured Moya's crew as well as disabled the leviathans engines enough that she couldn't escape. He would probably grant her that transfer to the commandoes that she had put in for and she would get the chance to serve with some of the best Peacekeeper soldiers which would be a fast track to promotion.

The smile disappeared from Aeryn's face as she began the task of entering the thick stormy atmosphere of the commerce planet. She had work to do.

*****

****

Pilot's Den

Moya

Moya screamed in Pilots mind as the Peacekeeper pulse cannon fire ripped into her drive units. The whole of the living ship shook violently as Moya writhed in agony. Pilot growled in anger even as parts of his mind – in the unique multitasking ability of his species – fought the contain and assess the damage. Normally Pilot like all his species was not prone to anger – there place was to serve but he felt it now with blinding strength even as he tried to calm the leviathan and dampen the pain impulses to the network of bioneural processors that was Moya's brain. If he saw that Peacekeeper officer again Pilot swore she would die for causing Moya so much pain.

As he brought Moya back to an even keel he noticed the Peacekeeper Prowler on the sensors looping down into the planets atmosphere and Pilot knew that she was after the others, either to kill them or more likely delay them until Peacekeeper reinforcements could arrive and recapture them all. While his first duty was to Moya Pilot knew he could not permit that to happen.

With one of his four arms he reached forward and activated the communications unit. He would do what he could to warn the others of the approaching danger. Another part of his mind directed the DRD's to reroute the damaged main power lines as much as possible to restore as much power to the gravitic drive as they could without threatening to break one of the tendrils whose structural integrity had been substantially weakened by the attack and the secondary explosions it had triggered.

He established a communications link with the transport pod and sent a general page to the others.

"D'Argo here what is it Pilot?" the Luxan's voice responded almost immediately. Taking a deep breath Pilot explained everything that had just happened.

"Understood Pilot I will get the others we will return to Moya immediately. Prepare to leave orbit as soon as we are aboard."

"Moya's engines are seriously damaged D'Argo we cannot move that quickly."

"Can Moya still jump?"

"Yes the jump engines are undamaged."

"Good. We'll jump as soon as we leave orbit."

"We agree," Pilot replied feeling Moya's own heartfelt agreement.

"D'Argo out." The channel to the Luxan closed with a bleep. Pilot immediately turned his attention back to Moya and beginning to prepare for the immediate jump to hyperspace as soon as they were clear of the orbital traffic. Even getting that far would be difficult with Moya's gravitic drive so damaged it would have to be handled carefully.

He was soon so distracted preparing for there escape that he didn't notice the flicker on the sensors as a jump point opened on the far side of the planets moon, didn't notice the Peacekeeper warship that slipped into the Thakeni system like an assassin's knife into an unsuspecting heart. Barely seconds later three transports left the Peacekeeper warship as it took up a stealth position behind the moon where no one would see it unless they focused a concentrated scan on its position. And there it sat in wait, a dark silent predator watching its prey, waiting with infinite patience for it to make a move that would allow it the opportunity for a swift, lethal strike. 


	9. Chapter Nine

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Chapter Nine

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Planets Surface

That Same Time

Aeryn Sun landed her Prowler as close as possible to the edge of the landing grid. While her flight in the atmosphere hadn't been authorised by planetary traffic control they didn't dare contact her to complain. Peacekeeper High Command tended to take very strong action against anyone who complained about the actions of any Peacekeeper. So nobody complained.

After powering down the Prowlers engines Aeryn powered open the Prowlers canopy and climbed out. Immediately she frowned as greasy faintly acidic rain immediately began falling on her. The whole city was covered by thick storm clouds from which was falling light but constant rain, rain contaminated by the discharge from manufacturing plants in the city and particulates shot up into the atmosphere by the large scale mining operations that were going on elsewhere on the planet. Aeryn quashed the surge of annoyance at the rain immediately – it was beneath her to worry about physical discomfort – then she closed the canopy.

The transport pod from Moya was sitting on the grid not far away so the escaped prisoners and the Ranger wouldn't be too far away. It made logical sense that the prisoners wouldn't go to far from there transport – they would want to get supplies and get back to Moya quickly. As for Crichton he would be nearby since his ship was still in Moya's transport hanger.

For a moment Aeryn thought about what to do now. She couldn't really hope to recapture all the prisoners by herself especially since she didn't have a weapon – the Luxan especially wouldn't be taken without a fight – but perhaps she could get Crichton to help her if she could find him. If she couldn't get him to help then she would have to assume he had taken the prisoners side and would have to be taken with them, assuming of course she could beat him since she didn't know what if any weapons he had on him were and how well trained he was in close quarter combat. After taking a deep breath she walked across the landing field towards the closest market place she would find Crichton first and then recapture the other prisoners with his help if possible or alone if necessary.

*****

****

Market Place

As soon as he signed off with Pilot D'Argo went over to where Zhaan was standing not far away. They had only just returned from taking some cases of food and barrels irriscentant fluid – a vital component on Moya that they needed to replenish as a lot had been haemorrhaged during their escape – back to the transport pod. Rygel was a short distance away negotiating for more supplies with an alien that looked like a spider crossed with a beetle. Those negotiations would have to be broken off, they had to find Crichton and return to Moya immediately. They had to leave this system before the Peacekeepers arrived which would be difficult enough considering the damage to Moya's gravitic drive the Peacekeeper female had caused in her strafing run.

"The female Peacekeeper has just escaped from Moya and is coming down to the surface in her Prowler," D'Argo told the Delvian priestess. "Before she came down she made a firing pass at Moya. The gravitic drive has been seriously damaged but is operational and Moya's jump engines are undamaged. This barter session is over we have to leave now before the Peacekeepers show up." Alarm flashed across the Delvians blue features for a moment before being replaced by determination.

"I'll get Rygel," she said. "What about Crichton?"

"I'll go find him. Don't wait for us. As soon as you and Rygel are on the transport get it and the supplies back to Moya. John and I will find another way back." _Assuming John doesn't call his ship down,_ D'Argo thought secretly hoping that would end up happening and he would get to see the inside of the _Farscape_. It would be interesting especially if he got a look at her weapon systems.

Zhaan nodded and went to get the Hynerian while D'Argo sniffed at the air looking for Crichton's scent among the multitude of smells – not all of them pleasant – which assailed his sensitive Luxan nose. All species had a distinctive smell and had he though about it at the time Crichton's scent should have immediately clued him in during there first few moments that appearances aside Crichton was not Sebacean. After a moment he found a faint trace of Crichton in the air and immediately began to move in that direction. With the rain scents didn't carry far so the Human would have to somewhere reasonably close by it was just a matter of finding exactly where the Ranger was and to do that he would have to follow the Humans scent trail.

He abruptly paused as he detected another scent trail moving closer to where Crichton's was coming from. The female Peacekeeper. Quickly he drew his Qualta blade from its sheath on his back and advanced in a far more cautious manner. A bad scenario flashed through his mind a scenario involving John Crichton and Aeryn Sun joining forces and turning on and capturing them. And D'Argo didn't know what would happen then, he already knew that he would have a very difficult time dealing with Crichton if it came to a fight, the Ranger was a skilled combatant who had been trained extremely well and who'd already beaten him once. For a moment D'Argo considered shifting his Qualta blade to rifle mode but decided against it. If a fight came between him and Crichton then he would rather it be blade to that metal staff of his it would be much more honourable and even if they did end up on opposite sides he respected Crichton enough to fight him warrior to warrior.

*****

John Crichton stood leaning against a set of safety railings at the edge of a wide deep canyon that split this dirty industrial city in half. Far below a river of dirty water foamed and roared. Waste pipes discharged into it from both sides of the canyon walls and the stink that came off was appalling. When he got back to Moya he was going to go aboard the _Farscape_ and have a shower – granted it was only a vibe shower the _Farscape_ didn't have a complex enough water recycling system to allow hot water or even cold water showers – but he would enjoy it nevertheless. And it would get him clean. Vibe showers also had the advantage of being able to clean clothes as well as people.

He looked around at the grimy city with distaste. He had seen some dirty cities in his time with the Anla'shok since he had had to go on field missions like any other Ranger as well as work on the _Farscape_ project but this one beat the lot hands down. Cities this dirty had not existed outside of industrial revolution history books on any planet in the Interstellar Alliance in centuries and in a few cases – the Minbari and the Centauri (who'd rejoined the ISA after the ascension of Vir Cotto to the position of emperor upon the death of Londo Mollari and the driving off of the Drakh forces that had occupied the planet quietly since 2261) – for a millennium or more. Drazi and Narn cities could be dirty and dark but they had nothing on this place. Seeing such obviously pollution and the lack of environmental care saddened him and annoyed him as well. His people had learned the hard way the cost of not caring for the environment when in the mid twenty first century Earth's climate really started to go nuts and would have destabilised completely if they hadn't immediately began taking steps to clean up and repair the environment. It had strained there technology to the limits to repair the damage there ancestors caused to Earth's ecology in the twentieth and early twenty first centuries but they'd managed it and stopped the environmental damage going any further and repaired as much as they could. But there had been so much they couldn't do. Replanting forests, cleaning contaminated land and reducing the amount of green house gases in the air was one thing but they hadn't been able to rebuild many ecosystems which had been lost forever when the species that made them up died. It was so sad to see someone else making the mistakes that they had made.

Even as he looked down into the canyon part of John was always alert for possible danger. Some less savoury members of the local population had already tried to mug him a few times – fortunately his attackers had only been ever armed with knifes, short lengths of metal piping and the odd length of chain and with his fighting pike he'd made short work of them. When they woke up all his attackers would be suffering from a couple of very nasty bruises and would have absolutely nothing to show for it. The encounters had put John on his guard so he was now constantly alert for danger – one hand was always near the belt of the hooded waterproof hooded robe he was wearing over his uniform – ready to reach in and grab his denn'bok from its place on his belt. He hadn't thought to bring a PPG with him when he'd gone back on the _Farscape_ and picked up the robe before coming down to the planet. Unlike most energy weapons PPG's did have the equivalent of a stun setting – on the lowest of a PPG's three settings the plasma bolt didn't have enough heat or power to burn through the skin so it just dispersed on impact emitting an electromagnetic shock powerful enough to induce temporary unconsciousness in most species, it also caused a burn that was more like a mild case of sunburn than anything else, certainly nothing really dangerous. Had he known that this planet was a hotbed of semi-legal and downright criminal activity he would have brought a PPG with him. _Something to bear in mind for the next commerce planet I'm on,_ he thought.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention and he spun around removing his denn'bok from its slot and extending it in a lightning fast reflexive action. Holding the pike in guard position he was surprised when he saw who was approaching. It was the Peacekeeper female Aeryn Sun. _How in Valen's name did she get out of her cell,_ he wondered.

Aeryn Sun paused when she saw him with the denn'bok. Aeryn raised her hands in a universal gesture of calm down she had some idea how dangerous staffs could be as weapons when used properly and from the way Crichton was holding that silver staff – a staff that had extended from a tiny little cylinder – he knew how to use it effectively in a fight.

"I'm not here to fight you Ranger Crichton," she said softly. "I'm sorry if I startled you. Please put that away."

John studied her intently. She seemed to be telling the truth but how could he be sure. _Where's a telepath when you need one,_ he thought. After a moment he decided he would trust her to a degree and made the slight wrist move to close the denn'bok but he kept it out and ready in its retracted state. If Aeryn Sun made any move to draw a weapon he would extend it again and knock her senseless.

"What do you want," he asked after a moment. _I really should stop asking that damned question,_ he thought, _it makes me sound like a damned Vorlon._

"I need your help," Aeryn replied. "The escaped prisoners on Moya are dangerous people. They must be recaptured. But I cannot do it alone I need your help. If you help me then my people will be very grateful and would probably help you get back to wherever part of space you come from."

"Tempting but why should I help you," John asked.

"Because the crew of Moya are dangerous. The Luxan Ka D'Argo is a convicted murderer for one thing. The prisoners must be recaptured."

At that moment D'Argo showed up with his Qualta blade at the ready. He caught the Peacekeepers last sentence and seeing John and the Peacekeeper together he made a snap and incorrect judgement.

"Or destroyed," he broke in then swung at the Peacekeeper intending to slice her head off after he dealt with her he would kill Crichton for betraying them. The Peacekeeper dodged the swing and turned and ran away since she had no weapons to fight with and unarmed combat training was no good against an armed Luxan. D'Argo started to pursue only to stop when John extended his denn'bok and hold it out to block his path, he wasn't about to allow D'Argo to kill Aeryn Sun when she had no weapons to fight back with. D'Argo rounded on the Ranger.

"We trusted you Crichton," D'Argo growled glaring at John. "Warrior to warrior I respected you and trusted your word. But now you betray us to the Peacekeepers."

"I've betrayed no one," John replied as he shifted his denn'bok to the on guard position. "Your making assumptions D'Argo I thought you wouldn't be stupid enough to make snap decisions without knowing all the facts."

"I wish I could believe you," D'Argo said genuine desire in his voice. Personally he wanted to believe that John hadn't betrayed them but he just couldn't take the risk that he had. "But I cannot and so to preserve our freedom you must die." He swung the Qualta blade at Crichton only for Crichton to intercept and block the swing with a single graceful move with his denn'bok.

"Don't be a fool D'Argo," John said warningly. "I don't want to fight you. But if you force me to I will take you down. I didn't want to harm you the last time we fought. This time I won't be so merciful."

"We shall see," D'Argo growled and again swung the Qualta blade at John. John dodged the swing rather than block it with the denn'bok. Inertia carried the blade around in its arc and D'Argo wasn't able to compensate before John brought the denn'bok crashing down on the wrist of his sword arm. The Qualta blade flew from D'Argo's grip even as he yelled in pain. John swung the denn'bok again striking D'Argo in the stomach knocking the wind from him with a sharp _whumph_ then dropping low he trust the denn'bok between the Luxans legs before scissoring it knocking D'Argo's legs from under him. D'Argo hit the deck hard with a groan of pain.

D'Argo rolled to the side towards the Qualta blade and he grabbed it before jumping to his feet again and facing John again.

"Impressive," D'Argo growled. "But it won't do you any good. I will kill you."

"I've heard that before," John replied. "D'Argo I urge you one more time don't be foolish. I'm not your enemy."

"Enough talk," D'Argo snarled and immediately launched into an attack with a sequence of thrusts and cuts with his Qualta blade. John blocked most of the attacks and during the last thrust move pivoted to the side. Again D'Argo unable to compensate in time stumbled forward. Again John brought the denn'bok down on D'Argo's wrist and this time he put all of his two hundred and fifteen pounds of weight behind the blow with predictable results. As soon as the denn'bok smashed into D'Argo's wrist there was a sharp snap of breaking bone. The Qualta blade dropped to the floor for the second time as D'Argo howled in pain, but before the wounded enraged Luxan could react John backed up a bit before leaping forward and using the denn'bok like a pole fault struck D'Argo hard in the torso with the soles of both booted feet knocking him clean off his feat. Stars exploded before D'Argo's eyes and the whole world reeled sickeningly as he was knocked of his feet to hit the floor with a brutal smack.

Though stunned and badly weakened by the impact D'Argo rolled over and started to get to his feet. He had to finish this fight even though by now it was painfully obvious that he was no match for John. He had got into a kneeling position when John struck him again with the denn'bok striking him squarely on the chest with enough force that D'Argo was knocked flat onto his back again.

John appeared over him and placed the tip of the denn'bok at D'Argo's throat.

"Yield or die," John said.

"That will not be necessary," a new voice said. 

John looked up startled to find himself facing a Sebacean male in a black uniform holding a pulse pistol. Around him was Aeryn Sun – now also holding a pulse pistol – and several figures in black body armour and some in full helmets all holding what were obviously rifle versions of the pulse pistols. They were powerful mean looking things.

And every single one of them was trained on him and D'Argo.


	10. Chapter Ten

****

Chapter Ten

John wearily eyed all the weapons that were trained on him and D'Argo and the Peacekeepers who wielded them.

Knowing that there were too many of them for him to even consider fighting John retracted the denn'bok, put it away inside his cowl and took a couple of steps back from D'Argo. All the while trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

As soon as he was a few steps back from D'Argo the male Sebacean who seemed to be the guy in charge made a hand gesture and two of the figures behind him moved forward. They roughly manhandled the wounded Luxan getting him back on his feat and placing his hands in what were obviously handcuffs. They paid absolutely no attention to the moans of pain from D'Argo as the cuffs pressed against his broken wrist. A third Peacekeeper went and picked up D'Argo's Qualta blade from where it lay in a puddle of water.

Ignoring the wounded Luxan Senior Officer Tauvo Crais walked up to the strange Sebacean looking male who'd so easily beaten the Luxan in combat. Officer Sun when she'd bumped into them had already told him a little bit about John Crichton. The fact that he wasn't a Sebacean instead belonging to a previously unknown species called Humans, and that he was some kind of soldier for a military force that called themselves Rangers or Anla'shok. A military force that belonged to something called the Interstellar Alliance. Personally Tauvo didn't like the sound of that. Interstellar Alliance implied two or more races working together, if that was the case then it could become a serious threat to the Peacekeepers.

"Who are you," Tauvo asked.

"Anla'shok John Crichton," John replied eyeing the man suspiciously. The man facing him had the same air of arrogance and superiority that Aeryn Sun did. In fact he seemed to be even worse. And there was something else, something that put him on his guard. They guy definitely reminded him strongly of Clark's most loyal and fanatical followers. The ones who had made his families lives hell during President Clark's reign of terror.

"Where are you from," Tauvo demanded. "Why are you here." John didn't answer. "You will answer me now," Tauvo ordered. John bristled at the mans tone. Tauvo began to get frustrated by the lack of response.

"Very well then if you don't answer my questions here then you'll answer them on the _Kraymor_ or back on the _Lendrolla_. Take him away." Peacekeepers moved forwards to take him.

Aeryn Sun watched and suddenly knew that she couldn't let this happen. She'd seen Crichton's ship up close even from an external inspection it seemed far superior to anything the Peacekeepers could build of similar size. At least as big as a Marauder the _Farscape_ embodied a new and obviously highly advanced technology. She couldn't let Crichton be interrogated in the normal Peacekeeper manner, if and when his people found Peacekeeper space then they might not take kindly to it at all. Peacekeepers and this Interstellar Alliance would find themselves at odds from day one and Aeryn did not know who would win if that tension escalated into war.

So she made a decision. A decision that she did not yet know would change her life forever.

"Sir," she said.

"Yes Officer Sun," Tauvo asked. "You know something about this alien?"

"Only that I have spoken to him and seen his ship up close," Aeryn replied. "He's not our enemy." Tauvo frowned he did not like this at all. Peacekeeper soldiers knew not to speak out of line yet here was Office Sun an outstanding member of the Pliesar Regiment doing it. There could be only one reason for this.

"As you know Officer Sun Peacekeeper High Command has strict procedures regarding contact with unclassified alien life forms," he said. Aeryn realised with a jolt of horror deep inside what was happening. She started to speak to defend herself. But Tauvo continued before she could speak. "You may well have exceeded those limits Officer Sun. Which would make you irreversibly contaminated."

"Sir no please," Aeryn started to say.

"Take her away take them all away," Tauvo ordered. "You and you search them then take them to the transport. The rest of you come with me we'll have to head the other escaped prisoners off."

"Yes sir."

Two large grunts both without led Crichton, D'Argo and a stunned Aeryn Sun who herself was now being placed in handcuffs away. Tauvo for his part took his remaining men and went to search for the other two prisoners from the leviathan. The sooner he rounded them up the sooner he could get off the miserable excuse of a planet.

They fanned out into a standard search pattern; the aliens that had previously filled the streets had vanished not wishing to do anything that might attract Peacekeeper attention. The Peacekeepers had been walking for a good few minutes when they received a message from the _Kraymor_. The transport pod Moya had sent down to the planet had left the atmosphere a few minutes ago and was now docking with the leviathan. They hadn't spotted it before because their stealth position behind the moon coupled with the heavy orbital traffic had hid it from view. The _Kraymor_ also reported another ship leaving the leviathan, a ship of unknown configuration that there sensors could not lock onto. It was heading down to the planet at full speed.

Simultaneously Tauvo received word that the guards escorting the prisoners were down and the prisoners had escaped.

"Back to the spaceport," he ordered his men. "That ship must belong to Crichton and is coming down to pick him us. We must stop them before they can escape."

Quickly the Peacekeepers changed direction and hurried back to the spaceport.

*****

****

A Few Minutes Earlier

After leaving the main group of Peacekeepers and moving into a side street John and D'Argo were both pressed against a cold concrete wall and methodically searched by the two Peacekeeper grunts.

One of the guards turned John back around and began searching his front opening the cowl. He removed the denn'bok from its place on John's belt and examined the small metal cylinder. It didn't look like much how could it extend into that metal staff they'd observed Crichton use with such ease and lethal precision of the Luxan.

"How do you work this thing," he asked Crichton. John hid a grin when he saw that the Peacekeeper was looking down into the denn'bok and the other end was pointing right at his companion standing beside him searching D'Argo. They had an opportunity to escape here. An opportunity they wouldn't have if the grunt had had more common sense.

"Simple," he said. "You just make a slight shake of your wrist while holding the centre of the cylinder. Curious the Peacekeeper started to follow John instruction. His partner abruptly noticed what was going on and he had slightly more sense.

"Don…" the second grunt started to say. But he was too late! The first grunt flicked the denn'bok as John had instructed.

The denn'bok opened with a snap. Instantly expanding to its full length. The metal staff slammed into both Peacekeeper grunts as it did so and both hit the deck out cold as the extending denn'bok had hit them both in the face. John laughed.

"Morons," he said. "You don't look down a denn'bok and try to open it at the same time." D'Argo also snickered despite the pain he was in from his broken wrist. He now realised that he had been wrong to assume John had betrayed them to the Peacekeepers. He just wished he hadn't let his fear get the better of him, then he could have avoided the beating and broken wrist that John had given him when they'd fought. On Moya there was technology to quickly heal broken bones but he would ache for days as all the bruises came out.

John knelt down and retrieved keys from one of the two downed grunts, keys that would open their cuffs.

"Unlock me," D'Argo said holding out his cuffed hands.

"No unlock me," Aeryn said. John hesitated. "Come on there isn't time he's a criminal."

"We all are now," John replied annoyance in his voice. He looked at D'Argo and held out the keys. "Unlock me."

Taking the keys from John D'Argo did as he was told. In turn John unlocked him. Then John took the keys and went to unlock Aeryn.

"Your not going to let her go are you," D'Argo growled.

"She's like us now D'Argo. I cannot in good conscience leave her here."

"I won't go with you," Aeryn snapped. "Not with him." She glared at the Luxan in mutual dislike.

"You've been irreversibly contaminated remember," John replied.

"It means death," D'Argo added sneeringly.

"It's my duty," Aeryn replied. "My breeding. Since birth its what I am." John looked at her sympathetically realising that she knew next to nothing about the real world and how beautiful the universe could be.

"There is much more to life than blind obedience. You can be a lot more than what you are. If you are brave enough to make the journey," he replied. Aeryn thought about it. Truth be told she didn't want to die, but to leave the Peacekeepers. To become a fugitive. It wasn't a good thought. But yet something inside her urged her to follow John, to go with him, to become something more. She offered no resistance as John undid her handcuffs.

Then he turned away and picked up the denn'bok and with a quick flick of his wrist returned it to its transport state and stashed it back on his belt. He also picked up one of the grunts pulse pistols. D'Argo at that point retrieved his Qualta blade from the other grunt and with great effort returned it to its sheath on his back.

"How are we to get back to Moya," he asked. "I told the others not to wait for us the transport pod is bound to have left for Moya now."

"Leave that to me," John replied. First he activated the comm unit Pilot had given him on Moya. "Pilot," he said into it.

"Yes Ranger Crichton," Pilot responded.

"Open the hanger bay doors. My ship will be launching in a few moments."

"Understood." John signed off with Pilot. Then fished a small cylindrical ISA link out of a slot on his bed and activated it to the _Farscape's_ communications frequency. Though the link was coded in these situations the AI matrix on a Ranger ship was only programmed to respond to orders in Adronato the language of the Minbari religious caste for security reasons since few outside the Minbari and the Anla'shok knew the language which was the most complex of the three main languages of the Minbari. So when John spoke next it was in Minbari.

"Ship," he said into the comm link.

"On line," the _Farscape's_ AI unit responded in the same language.

"Power up engines and launch. Full stealth cloaking. Land at the closest place on the landing field to my current coordinates."

"Understood Anla'shok Crichton. Powering drive systems. Stealth systems active at full power. Moya's hanger bay is opening. Launching now. ETA three minutes."

"Very well."

Neither D'Argo nor Aeryn understood a word of what was being said. Their translator microbes were not able to decipher the language John was now speaking and being spoken to in. After a moment John cut the comm link and stopped speaking in Minbari.

"We need to get to the landing field. My ships coming down to meat us," he said. "It will be down here soon."

"That's this way," D'Argo said. "Who were you speaking too?"

"The AI matrix on my ship," John replied. "Now lets go before these pair wake up."

"This way," D'Argo added. Before they started moving he noticed Aeryn pick up a pulse pistol from the other downed Peacekeeper grunt. For a moment he considered objecting but then he decided against it and instead led the way to the spaceport.

*****

They reached the spaceport without incident. They reached it to find the _Farscape_ already sat down on the grid and the embarkation ramp lowered from the rear end between its aft stabiliser fins.

John took a cautious look around before they began moving quickly across the landing field. He kept the pulse pistol he was carrying at the ready.

They were almost to the _Farscape_ when pulse blasts began to rip through the air at them. A group of Peacekeepers were firing at them from near a blocky transport ship. John and Aeryn immediately returned fire sending red energy bolts flying through the air at the Peacekeepers, at this range though both sets of pulse weapons were not particularly accurate. They managed to reach the side of the _Farscape_ and were beneath the ships starboard wing but they couldn't get towards the tail as the volleys of pulse fire from the Peacekeepers were making it difficult.

"D'Argo take this," John said giving the pulse pistol to D'Argo. The Luxan carefully held the pulse pistol in his non-wounded left hand and joined Aeryn in firing at the Peacekeepers. John in the meantime yanked out the link cylinder again and quickly gave an order to the _Farscape's_ AI unit.

An instantly later a low powered bright yellow pulsed fusion bolt shot out of the _Farscape's_ starboard cannon with a loud boom, low power since had it been at full it would have ruptured there ear drums as it fired and the backwash from the bolt would have vaporised them at any rate. The blast of energy struck the Peacekeeper transport and the grunts using it as shelter while firing at them. The grunts were instantly vaporised and the pulse went straight through the Marauder-class transport vaporising most of it and reducing the few bits that survived to flaming wreckage.

"Niece," D'Argo said admiring the few semi-molten and burning fragments of the destroyed Marauder.

"And that blast was only at twenty percent," John added. "At fill power the backwash from the shot would have vaporised us as well. Now lets go before the other Peacekeepers show up. There are two other transports of theirs on this grid and they'll be after us in a moment."

John led them up the embarkation ramp and into the _Farscape_. After closing the airlock and retracting the embarkation ramp he went straight to the bridge and sat down in the pilots command seat and got the modified Blue Star class scout ship up into the air and set course back to Moya. For there part Aeryn and D'Argo looked around the bridge impressed by what they saw and also more than a little intimidated by the advanced nature of the ship's technology.

*****

From another Marauder transport on the landing field Senior Officer Tauvo Crais watched the alien ship lift into the air and shoot off towards orbit. The ease with which its weapons had obliterated the one Marauder had shocked him to the core. They needed to capture that ship now.

"Order the _Kraymor_ to intercept and detain both the leviathan Moya and the unknown ship," he said to the officer at the Marauders comm station. The commando nodded and did as he was bid.

*****

The _Farscape _cleared the atmosphere of the commerce planet quickly and was swiftly making its approach to Moya.

Sitting in his pilots/commanders seat on the _Farscape_ John was starting to relax when a proximity alarm sounded.

"Warning! Large ship approaching bearing two one seven mark three one!" the AI matrix said. "Unknown ship is confirmed to be a warship. Weapons systems are active and gun ports are open."

"Show me," John ordered the _Farscape_ even as he entered the command that raised the _Farscape's_ shields.

A holographic screen coalesced into being at the front part of the bridge showing the image of a large heavily armed ship bearing down on them.

"That's a Vigilante-class attack cruiser," Aeryn Sun said in identification.

"Alien ship is signalling," the _Farscape _reported. The overhead speakers crackled and then a powerful voice came through.

"Attention leviathan transport Moya and unknown alien vessel. This is Lieutenant Veraz commanding the Peacekeeper cruiser _Kraymor_. Surrender and prepare to be boarded."

"We cannot surrender to them," D'Argo stated.

"I have no intention to," John replied. "If Lieutenant Veraz wants this ship then he's going to have to fight for it. But first we need to get Moya out of here." With a stab of a single control John opened a communications link to Moya.

"_Farscape_ to Moya. Pilot is Moya able to jump?"

"Yes," Pilot responded.

"Good. Jump to hyperspace now while I distract the _Kraymor_."

"What about you?"

"Trust me. We'll be back with you shortly."

"Very well we will jump now," Pilot reported. "Good luck." Pilot broke the channel.

"What are you going to do," Aeryn asked. "There's no way this ship despite its stealth system can get past the _Kraymor_ to get to the jump gate."

"Won't need to," John replied smiling as he imagined there reactions to his next statement. There was no reason anymore for him to hide the _Farscape's_ capabilities "This ship can make its own jump points."

"What!" Aeryn and D'Argo exclaimed in shocked unison. A ship this small able to jump to hyperspace on its own power.

"Warning! Moya has activated jump engines. Jump point forming," the AI unit reported. "Peacekeeper vessel is targeting Moya."

"Oh no you don't," John said under his breath. Without hesitation he targeted the Peacekeeper cruiser with both cannons and opened fire at full power.

Dual streams of pulsed fusion bolts ripped across space to slam into the Peacekeeper cruiser before it could even begin to react. So confident that there would no resistance from a defenceless leviathan and a single small alien ship the Peacekeepers hadn't even bothered to activate their defences. Completely unshielded and without interceptors ready the streams of pulse fusion bolts slammed into the cruiser cutting deep into the armour. Explosions rocked the cruisers bow and fountains of molten metal spewed out into space, angry silver-grey jets of atmosphere began to vent from two places where the hull had been penetrated.

Not about to give the startled Peacekeepers a chance to recover John flew the _Farscape_ along the length of the cruiser firing at weapons and sensor arrays sending destructive explosions tearing through the cruiser. When he pulled away the _Kraymor_ was burning down its whole starboard length and was listing badly to that side. Lights on the cruiser flickered then went dead as it lost main power. Emergency running lights flicked on.

"Ship status of enemy vessel," John asked the _Farscape_.

"Enemy ship is disabled. Main power, engines, sensors and weapons are down. They are sending out distress call."

"You should finish them," D'Argo said.

"No," John replied. "I won't destroy someone when they cannot fight back. There is no honour in destroying someone who cannot defend themselves." At that he veered further away from the disabled and burning _Kraymor_. "Ship activate jump engines."

"Jump engines on line," the AI replied.

"Jump."

A jump point opened in space ahead of the _Farscape_ and the modified Blue Star dove in and vanished from normal space leaving the commerce planet and the crippled Peacekeeper cruiser behind. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

****

Chapter Eleven

Pilot's Den

Moya

Pilot was both startled and alarmed when Moya detected another jump point forming just behind them. He experienced a frisson of panic as he guessed that it would be the _Kraymor_ coming into hyperspace after them, that despite his words Crichton had failed to delay the Peacekeepers and most likely been destroyed despite the protection of his ships stealth technology and organic armour. His sense of panic was matched by Moya, the living ship fearing immediately that she was going to be recaptured and be a slave again. Assuming of course that the _Kraymor's_ commander didn't decide that recapturing a single escaped leviathan was more trouble than it was worth and simply blasted Moya from space. Moya did her a low level gravimetric defence field but it was nothing compared to that of a warship and would not protect her from more than one or two of the chemically generated plasma bolts fired by a Peacekeeper frag cannon.

As the jump point opened fully there alarm and fear turned to complete shock and disbelief when instead of the menacing form of a Peacekeeper cruiser Crichtons ship came through the jump point, the jump point closing behind it.

Pilot was absolutely astounded. A ship as small as Crichtons able to open a jump point on its own power – it was incredible and impossible. Yet here was the _Farscape_ doing the impossible. Pilot immediately wondered what power source the ship used, it had to be very advanced and powerful to allow the ship to have the power necessary for opening a jump point. He would have to ask Crichton later as he had no way of finding out with Moya's sensors since even when they weren't being blocked by the ships stealth system – like they were now – they couldn't penetrate the hull beyond the organic armour layer. Whatever material the hull beneath the armour was made from blocked Moya's scans. The fact that he hadn't been able to scan the _Farscape_ had almost made him refuse to bring her aboard when they'd been in the midst of their escape. But seeing the way the ship had appeared he and the others had been desperate enough to take the otherwise foolhardy risk of bringing the ship that appeared in there midst aboard without knowing who or what was inside.

Pilot's console reported a communications link opening from the _Farscape_.

"_Farscape_ to Moya. Request clearance to land," John Crichton's voice said over the comm link.

"Clearance granted Ranger Crichton but please be aware the docking web emitter is off line you will have to land manually," Pilot replied. "What about the Peacekeeper cruiser? Is it right behind you?"

"There's noting to be concerned about Pilot. I've disabled it. The _Kraymor_ is currently dead in space. It won't be bothering us for awhile."

"You disabled a Peacekeeper cruiser," Pilot exclaimed in astonishment. He wasn't sure what was more amazing about the _Farscape_. That it could make its own jump points or the fact that it had disabled a heavily armed Peacekeeper warship so quickly. Peacekeeper warships even cruisers like the _Kraymor_ were powerful ships for one to be quickly disabled – especially by a ship as small as Crichtons was unheard of.

"Yes. They did send a distress signal though. We should leave this area before another Peacekeeper ship responds."

"Agreed. As soon as you are onboard Moya will move off the beacon so the Peacekeepers cannot track us."

"Understood." Crichton cut the communications link at that moment and Pilot opened the hanger bay door to allow Crichtons ship to land.

A few moments later the _Farscape_ was safely inside Moya and Pilot immediately directed Moya to move off the beacon. Moya did so as quickly as her damaged engines would allow her to.

**

* * *

**

Peacekeeper Marauder Transport

Tauvo Crais kept his eyes focused on the front view port as the crew on the marauder flew him back to the _Kraymor_. The cruiser was listing badly and now that the fires had been put out he could see the deep gashes blown in its hull by the energy bolts fired by Crichtons ship. The cruisers main lights were still out indicating that its main power core must still be off line. The cruiser had also picked up a rotation and without power to its engines was unable to correct it as her secondary thrusters lacked sufficient power having only really been design for docking manoeuvres. Distress beacons could be seen flashing along the length of the ship and on all Peacekeeper stellarcom channels the _Kraymor_ was transmitting an urgent call for assistance.

Even without looking at the sensor display it was obvious to Tauvo that the _Kraymor_ was going to need to spend a considerable amount of time in space dock being repaired. A glance at the sensor displays did show him just how bad the damage was. There were hull breaches everywhere especially on the bow and down the treblin side where Crichtons blasts had sliced right through the armour. All forward and treblin frag cannons were gone as were secondary pulse lasers. There was massive internal damage throughout the entire ship and fires were still burning in some parts of the ship where internal explosions had occurred.

"Sir the _Kraymor_ reports that they've received a response to there distress call," the commando manning the marauders communications station reported. "The convoy we were originally escorting to Terran-Ra have now moved close enough to the system for the ships orbiting the prison to protect them. The _Lendrolla_ has broken away from the convoy and reports that they are coming this way at maximum speed. They will be here in two arns."

"Indicate message understood," Tauvo ordered.

"Yes sir." _Two arns wonderful,_ Tauvo thought to himself, _I've got two arns to figure out how to explain all this the Bylar._ He hoped his brother wouldn't be too mad at him. Peacekeepers were not supposed to have emotions and generally neither Tauvo nor Bylar Crais let their emotions get in the way but not between the two of them. The bond formed when they were little boys growing up on a Sebacean agricultural colony before being conscripted into the Peacekeepers was as strong as ever despite years of Peacekeeper conditioning. Every time Bylar told him off about something Tauvo inwardly felt ashamed of having let his brother down. It was just something he couldn't help.

Inwardly Tauvo sighed. He hoped Bylar wouldn't be too mad especially if he explained about the power of Crichtons ship. Power that was unheard of in a ship that small. Whoever and wherever they were this Interstellar Alliance was a serious threat to the Peacekeepers and there continued domination of this part of the galaxy. High Command would have to move quickly to locate and remove the threat before it became to great as the last thing they needed was yet another opponent, High Command had enough on its plate preparing for an inevitable conflict with the Scarren Imperium without having to deal with this Interstellar Alliance on a large scale as well. He would have to find someway to communicate the level of threat he believed this Interstellar Alliance to be to his brother when the _Lendrolla_ arrived.

Though Tauvo suspected that the damage to the _Kraymor_ would do more to convince Bylar and High Command that the Interstellar Alliance was a threat to be crushed as soon as possible than anything he himself could say to them.

**

* * *

**

Maintenance Bay

Moya, That Same Time

Zhaan and Rygel along with a couple of DRD's were waiting in the maintenance bay adjacent to the transport hanger as the _Farscape_ came into land. Pilot had just filled them in on what Crichton had said that he'd disabled a Peacekeeper cruiser and they could barely believe their ears. And it made them wonder if a ISA scout ship like Crichtons could disable a Peacekeeper cruiser so easily then what could there warships do.

After a few moments the repressurisation of the transport hanger was complete – Pilot still didn't have the atmospheric containment field back on line yet, the Prowler assault earlier had disabled it along with numerous other systems and it would take Moya sometime to heal. The doors to the transport hanger opened and too there shock three people came to meet them. Two of them were John Crichton and D'Argo but the other was the Peacekeeper pilot Aeryn Sun and from the way she was walking she wasn't a prisoner.

DRD's immediately produced small pulse blasters and targeted Aeryn as Pilot remembered the pain she'd caused Moya and there joint desire to exact some form of retribution.

"Pilot that's not necessary," John said noticing the blasters trained on Aeryn who'd frozen a hand hovering near the butt of the pulse pistol she'd taken off the one grunt down on the planet.

"She wounded Moya. Caused her intense pain," Pilot objected anger in his tone and everyone knew that he meant to fire. Nothing got a pilot more riled up than harming the leviathan they were bonded to.

"I know I did Pilot," Aeryn Sun replied. "I was only doing my duty as a Peacekeeper. You're an escaped ship I had to do something to stop you."

"Was you are speaking in the past tense," Zhaan noted.

"Office Sun is no longer a Peacekeeper. She has deemed irreversibly contaminated and decided to join us rather than go to her death. She is on our side now," D'Argo answered and it was clear from his tone of voice that he found the concept of having a Peacekeeper on their ragtag crew somewhat distasteful.

"Moya and I do not want her here," Pilot objected. "She is not welcome."

"Then you will have to choose Pilot," John replied getting annoyed. "Either you allow Aeryn to stay or me, Aeryn and my ship will leave Moya and you to your own devices. You will be alone with out anyone to protect you."

For a long couple of moments there was silence as everyone considered what John had just said. They knew it wasn't an empty threat and they also knew that without John and the _Farscape_ to protect them from the Peacekeepers and the other threats out here near the incorrectly named Uncharted Territories they wouldn't survive for very long. Aeryn for her part couldn't believe that the Ranger was standing up for he like this, she barely knew him. She'd only stood up for him down on the planet out of concern for the effect Senior Officer Crais actions towards Crichton if the Peacekeepers tortured him would have on Peacekeeper relations with the Interstellar Alliance when they encountered it.

Finally after a moment the DRD's put there pulse blasters away.

"Very well Crichton she can stay," Pilot said at last. "But it will be on your head if she betrays us."

"Fair enough Pilot," John replied. "Fair enough."

"Now that that's over with we should discuss what we are going to do now," Zhaan said changing the subject. "Where do we go from here."

"We need to leave Peacekeeper jurisdiction," D'Argo said. "Pilot set a course to take us into the Uncharted Territories. The Peacekeepers shouldn't follow us there." The others nodded in agreement except for Aeryn.

"Setting course," Pilot replied.

"That might not be true D'Argo," Aeryn said at last. "The crippling of the _Kraymor_ may well induce the Peacekeepers to pursue us even beyond their boarders of their normal patrol space."

With that cheery thought in mind everyone left the maintenance bay.


	12. Chapter Twelve

****

On The Wings Of Destiny

****

Chapter Twelve

Earth Force Shuttle

Approaching EAS Independence

Earth Orbit, Two Weeks Later

It was a vaguely uncomfortable DK who sat in one of the passenger seats of an Earth Force shuttle as it rose up out of Earth's atmosphere on a course to rendezvous with and land on the _Independence,_ which was sitting in orbit over northern Europe.

He wasn't uncomfortable about the zero gee environment of the shuttle – though they had gravimetric technology shuttles were too small to mount artificial gravity units though they could use a gravitic engine. Not even the Minbari had been able to solve that problem yet and they'd have gravitic technology longer than anyone else, no the reason he was uncomfortable was because he was back in Earth Force uniform something he had promised himself he wouldn't put on again if he could avoid it. The only reason he had agreed to put it on again now was to be part of the mission being sent to find John.

It had been surprisingly easy to convince EarthGov, Earth Force Command and the Interstellar Alliance Council of what had really happened to the _Farscape_ at Lanaro, that she hadn't been destroyed merely sucked down a wormhole mutated by the solar flares electromagnetic wave. Finding where the wormhole would have dumped the _Farscape_ had been much more difficult.

It had taken the best scientific minds in whole vast region of space controlled by the Interstellar Alliance working together and sharing there knowledge to at least get a general idea of where the _Farscape_ had ended up.

They had finally concluded that the _Farscape_ had ended up in a region of space deeper in towards the core of the galaxy whereas ISA territory stretched across a sizeable chunk of the Orion arm. And it was then that DK and his fellow scientists had been told some surprising and disturbing information.

What they'd been told was that both EarthGov and the Interstellar Alliance had known that there was life in that part of space for the better part of two and a half years. Apparently long range hyperspace probes had been picking up a lot of coherent tachyon emissions on non-standard frequencies coming from that area – emissions consistent with jump gate beacons and stellarcom transmissions.

It had been kept quiet from the alliance at large since analysis of the transmissions had revealed some disturbing information about the political and military state of play in that part of space. Apparently the region was dominated by three majors powers, some group called the Peacekeepers – who visual transmissions had shown to look just like Humans which had caused quiet a bit of consternation in the council and EarthGov, the Scarren Imperium and the Nebari Confederacy. After these three there were numerous smaller powers like the Hynerian Empire, Scorvian Union, Luxan-Illannic Coalition and so on.

Analysis of there stellarcom signals had shown that there was a lot of contention and rivalry between these different groups much like there had been in what was now ISA space just before the Shadow War. Some were at war with each other all ready and it was obvious that there was a major war brewing between the Peacekeepers and Scarrens.

The ISA had been weary of the situation and did not really want to do anything that could draw any races in that part of space's attention to them. So in conjunction with the major governments ISA had kept knowledge of it secret and forbidden exploration of the region for sometime.

The fact that the _Farscape_ had been sent to that part of space by the wormhole had caused considerable alarm and a major rethink. The races in that part of the galaxy would now know that there was at least one powerful new race out in the depths of space. While the ISA had concluded that it was unlikely that the _Farscape_ would be captured – DK knew full well John would destroy her himself rather than let that happen – they couldn't take any risk that it would be captured and its pilot interrogated. So it had been decided that a task force be sent to that area.

Its mission would be twofold. One of its objectives was to find and recover the _Farscape _and John Crichton, the other objective was to send a quiet warning to any potential hostile race in that part of space. A warning that any aggression towards any member world in the Interstellar Alliance would not be tolerated and would be met with deadly force.

DK had asked to go on the mission to rescue his friend. But Earth Force Command had been awkward refusing to allow a civilian to be present on a warship for such a long period of time. They'd barely tolerated DK being on the _Independence_ for the experiment in the Lanaro System. In desperation DK had turned to Jack Crichton for help.

Jack had come up with the only possible solution. He'd reactivated DK's Earth Force commission – something normally only done in time of war – and throwing his weight around in Earth Force Command got him assigned to the _Independence_ as a science officer. So here DK was in a brand new uniform with a packed duffel bag heading for one of the most powerful warships in Earth Force.

The _Independence_ and the two other ships that would make up the Earth Force contingent of the ISA task force swung into view and they looked sharply at odds with the older Omega and Warlock class destroyers and Nova battlecruisers sharing orbit with them. The _Independence_ and the two new Trident-class battlecruisers escorting her were completely different in design to better accommodate drive systems that were wholly gravitic. All three were sleek and graceful smoothly curved almost knifelike shapes that tapered softly outwards from the bow before curving back and merging into the rear stabilisers. All three bristled with armament – armament that included antimatter missiles, phased plasma cannons, neutron beam cannons and fusion beam cannons.

Jump points opening in near orbit caught DK's attention and he turned to see the rest of the ISA task force arriving. It consisted of a Victory-class destroyer, six White Stars, two Minbari Tinashi-class frigates and one Minbari Sharlin-class war cruiser. Combined it gave them thirteen ships – a small force by ISA standards but a powerful one.

DK smiled as he saw their arrival. Soon it would be time to leave Earth orbit and go and look for John.

And he couldn't wait.

**

* * *

**

Twenty Minutes Later

General Jack Crichton walked onto the bridge of the _Independence_ with DK close behind him.

"Status report captain," he ordered to Captain Roberts as he moved to the command chair in the centre of the bridge and sat down. DK for his part moved over to the bridge science station and sat down.

"All ships are in formation and report ready for departure sir," Captain Roberts reported from where he was standing in the position normally occupied by a first officer.

"Very well all ships set course and break orbit. We'll jump to hyperspace as soon as were clear of the orbital traffic."

"Aye sir," Roberts replied and relayed the order to both the helmsman and to the other ships.

A moment later a faint shiver briefly ran through the deck beneath them as the gravitic engines started up and the _Independence_ accompanied by the rest of the task force began moving out of orbit to begin what would be a long voyage. The ships carefully threaded their way through the heavy spaceship traffic in orbit of Earth making for open space.

In moments the thirteen ships of the task force already renamed Alliance Expeditionary Group One was clear of the orbital shipping surrounding Earth.

"Sir were clear of the orbital traffic," Captain Roberts reported.

"Very well stand by to jump."

"Jump engines on line," the helmsman reported.

"Jump," Jack ordered.

Space ahead of the _Independence_ distorted and an orange outgoing jump point burst into existence to permit the great warship access to hyperspace. The _Independence_ cruised through the jump point her immense size meaning she barely felt the transition that most ships felt while jumping to and from hyperspace. The other ships also opened jump points and followed the Firebrand-class ship into hyperspace,

Sitting at the science station on the bridge of the _Independence_ DK hid a smile as the knowledge that there mission had begun. _Hang on John,_ he thought thinking of his old friend, _were coming to find you and bring you home._


	13. Chapter Thirteen

****

On The Wings Of Destiny

****

Chapter Thirteen

Moya

Two Months Later

John Crichton walked into Moya's command centre with a puzzled frown on his face. He had been meditating in the quarters that the rest of Moya's crew had persuaded him to take when a call had come in from Zhaan requesting that he join them in command. The summons puzzled him, Zhaan and the others knew that this was the time of day that he meditated – sometimes with Zhaan joining him – but he knew that he wouldn't be bothered if it weren't important so he'd come straight to command.

"Is there a problem," John asked stepping onto Moya's spacious command deck and noticed the main front screen. It showed the image of a ringed planet that was very similar in appearance to Saturn back home though slightly bigger and its storm clouds were a very dark shade of orange. But it wasn't the planet that grabbed his attention it was what was drifting inert over the rings.

It was a ship, a very big ship. It hung in space at an odd angle obviously adrift surrounded by a field of debris and looking at it John noticed a number of similarities in the silhouette of the ship to the huge ship the _Farscape's_ sensors had picked up on the edge of the battle that he'd appeared right in the middle of when he'd first got to this part of space.

"Is that Peacekeeper," he asked looking at the dead hulk floating in space over the rings.

"Yes," Aeryn Sun said. "It's a command carrier, the biggest class of ship in the whole Peacekeeper fleet." Pilot's holograph image abruptly appeared on the clamshell shaped communications screen.

"The radiation from the planet is clouding many of Moya's sensors but all the information we have been able to detect so far confirms that that is a dead ship."

"What is another Peacekeeper ship doing out here in the territories," D'Argo wondered. "Take us in closer Pilot."

"Moving in closer," Pilot replied as Moya began to close in on the derelict warship and began to manoeuvre carefully through the field of debris that surrounded the dead ship.

Looking at the debris as they manoeuvred through the field John noticed the gutted burned out remains of Prowlers and Marauders as well as debris that could have only come from the warship ahead. There was certainly a lot of it and floating in the rubble were the mummified remains of crew members who had obviously been blown out into space when the command carriers hull had been breached.

John looked over at Aeryn to see how she was taking it to find that the ex-Peacekeepers face was calm but having gotten to know her quite well he could see that seeing this – the inevitable aftermath of a battle in space – was upsetting her. Wisely he didn't comment on it as he knew it would only embarrass her and he had only recently gotten her to start opening up to him and gotten to see the woman buried inside and beneath a lifetime of Peacekeeper military conditioning. Also Aeryn would never admit to being upset by the site.

"We have additional scan results," Pilot announced. "The Peacekeeper vessel is very badly damaged all hanger decks are open to space and the hull has been breached in multiple areas. Angle indicates attack from below."

"Makes sense," D'Argo commented. "Stay out of the arc of the main guns. Can you determine how long ago this occurred Pilot?"

"Negative D'Argo," Pilot replied. "Nor can I determine the type of weapons used against the ship, the blast patterns are unfamiliar, they indicate that the metal was disrupted somehow even as it was sliced through."

"A neutron beam," John suggested as neutron cannons worked in that way slicing and disrupting the molecular structure of the target unlike fusion beams which just burned there way through or plasma blast's that shattered and vaporised.

"It is possible," Pilot agreed.

"Let me look at them Pilot lets see if I can identify the weapon used," John replied moving to one of the consoles and Pilot brought up a holographic display of the information for him and John frowned. Though there were similarities the weapons that had done this were not neutron beams like those used by the Minbari and now by Earth as well. Still it looked familiar the slicing, disruptive effect of the weapons looked like something he had seen before. John wracked his brain trying to remember where he had seen blasts like this before.

Then he remembered. This pattern was produced by a quantum energy weapon like the beam weapons used by the Drakh and the ones the ISA had been experimenting with for the last few years. The similarities to Drakh weaponry sent a chill down John's spine and made him wonder if the Drakh were out here. After their defeat at the hands of the Interstellar Alliance the remains of the Drakh Hoards had vanished into parts unknown, had they come out here? Though now that he looked carefully at it John realised that despite the similarities this damage wasn't caused by Drakh weaponry but by a more primitive form.

"John what is it?" Zhaan asked seeing the look on John's face.

"I've seen this kind of blast pattern before," John replied. "The blast patterns are similar to those produced by the quantum beam weapons used by a nomadic and dangerously intelligent and advanced race called the Drakh."

"Could these Drakh have done this?" D'Argo asked looking at the drifting bulk of the command carrier.

"Easily," John replied. "The Drakh were allies and servants of an evil race of First One's called the Shadows. Consequently their weapons were and are very powerful. Though the Drakh didn't do this D'Argo but someone with similar technology to them did. Similar but less advanced."

"We should go aboard," D'Argo said looking at the command carrier. "There maybe information in the ships databanks that we could use and tell us who did this not to mention star charts of this area."

"There may be weapons left onboard that we could use," Aeryn agreed not taking her eyes of the dead and drifting command carrier. "And I need to know who she is."

"It's the _Zelbinion_," Rygel answered her his eyes focused on the screen and the deposed Hynerian Dominar was glad that he was sat in his throne sled or he would have surely fallen. He knew that carrier; he knew her all to well. It was the crew of the _Zelbinion_ who'd helped his cousin Beshan after Beshan had stolen his throne. It was Captain Durka of the _Zelbinion_ who had first held him prisoner and tortured him for his own pleasure.

Aeryn looked at Rygel then back at the wreck of the command carrier. The _Zelbinion_, the finest warship her people had ever constructed. It was strange and more than a little disturbing to see the once mighty and unstoppable _Zelbinion_ like this, broken and beaten. Whoever had done this had to be powerful, she'd heard everything Crichton had said about the weapons used, obviously they were every bit as powerful as he'd said. She couldn't help but wonder who had done this, whoever they were she knew if Peacekeeper Command found out they would be in for a major pounding as command would not let the destruction of the _Zelbinion_ go unpunished.

"Do we have a consensus," Pilot abruptly asked.

"Yes Pilot we are docking and going aboard," D'Argo replied.

"Understood."

**

* * *

A Short Time Later**

John stood with Aeryn and D'Argo in the airlock section of Moya as they docked with the side of the _Zelbinion_.

"So what is it with this ship," he asked.

"The _Zelbinion_ was the most feared ship in the whole Peacekeeper armada," D'Argo replied in explanation not surprised that John did not recognise the name of the derelict ship.

"She's been missing for almost a hundred cycles," Aeryn added. "All attempts to contact her failed. Now that we have come across her I have many questions about what happened here."

"Aeryn this Zhaan," Zhaan's voice said at that moment from Aeryn's comm. "We have a firm lock with the _Zelbinion._ There is a breathable atmosphere beyond the connection hatch Pilot recommends you remain on the hammond side and high. The bulk of the damage is on the lower levels and engineering sections."

"Understood Zhaan," Aeryn replied before leading the way to the connection hatch. "Pilot open the hatch."

The hatch opened and along with John and D'Argo turned on their lights and entered the _Zelbinion_.

The thing that immediately struck John as he stepped aboard the Peacekeeper vessel was how dark and cold it was. Not just from the pronounced chill in the atmosphere but from the featureless bare metal walls and grilled flooring of the carrier. He couldn't believe anyone would spend their whole lives in places like this, every warship he'd ever seen was a warmer more welcoming place than this. Even Earth Force ships.

John didn't speak as they moved deeper into the _Zelbinion_ though the silence was positively eerie. Normally on a ship there was always a background noise but not here. It was quiet as a graveyard at midnight and every bit as spooky. It reminded John of all the ghost stories his sisters had inflicted on him as a child and the tales he'd heard in his time with the Anla'shok in spacers bars hearing stories of dead and deserted ships whose crews had vanished without a trace.

"This ship is legendary," D'Argo said from behind him the sudden noise nearly making John jump out of his skin. "Even in my culture. It was thought invincible."

"Well obviously someone did not get that message," John replied. "There is always someone bigger and badder out their and this ship obviously ran into them whoever they are."

Before anyone else could say anything else Aeryn leading the way abruptly stumbled on something and shone her light down. A body lay there on the ground, burned, badly burned. Every bit of flesh had been burned away leaving only a charred husk that looked like a figure made out of charcoal. It made John think of all the photo's he'd seen of people who had been unlucky enough to get caught in a volcanic pyroclastic surge.

"What the-?" he said. "Nasty way to die."

"Sheyang victim," D'Argo said exchanging a knowing look with Aeryn. "The Sheyang have been here as has someone else. Recently."

"Who are the Sheyang?" John asked. "Could they have done this?"

"Hardly. The Sheyang are opportunistic foragers," D'Argo replied. "They don't have the power to hurt a command carrier let alone defeat one. Certainly they have nothing like the quantum weapons you said about."

"There like vultures to a carcass," John muttered thoughtfully under his breath.

"Vultures?" D'Argo asked his sharp Luxan hearing having picked up what John had said.

"Sorry there carrion eating birds native to my homeworld. They descend in scores on a carcass of a recently deceased or killed animal from miles around and pick it clean in short order."

"Ah. An apt description for the Sheyang," D'Argo replied.

"Let's get going again," Aeryn said breaking in. "The command is this way we cannot afford to remain here for long."

John and D'Argo both nodded and resumed their journey towards whatever was left of the _Zelbinion's _command centre.

**

* * *

Nebari Host Ship**

Edge of Uncharted Territories

Captain Vala of the Nebari host ship _Shentaya_ sighed quietly. They were heading back to Nebari territory after a long mission of covert observation of the current situation in the Uncharted Territories. Needless to say it had been boring but Vala understood why it was necessary, with tensions continuing to rise between the Peacekeepers and Scarren Imperium and war having broken out between the Scorvians and the Illanics and there Luxan blood brothers it was imperative that the government knew everything that was going on.

Vala sighed again wishing they didn't have to take the long way to get back to Nebari space but the direct route would take them right through the heart of Scarren space and even for a warship as powerful as the _Shentaya_ it would be a death sentence. While the _Shentaya_ could handle one or two Scarren Dreadnoughts they couldn't hope to challenge a squadron of them all at once, let alone a fleet.

The sensors bleeped.

"What is it," Vala asked her voice calm.

"Captain our sensors are picking up a group of ships approaching the territories from unexplored space," he sensor lieutenant report. "Scanners are having a hard time getting a lock but we are reading at least thirteen ships. Silhouettes unknown."

"Interesting," Vala replied. "Change course to intercept. I want a look at these new ships whoever they belong to."

"Yes Vala," navigation replied entering the appropriate commands to change the _Shentaya's_ course so they could intercept the unidentified ships entering the edge of the vast region of space known as the Uncharted Territories.

Vala sat back in her command chair, this was going to be an interesting diversion. She could feel it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

**ISA Sword of Justice**

**Alliance Expeditionary Group One**

Ranger Turlan frowned slightly when the long-range scanners of the mighty Victory-class destroyer began picking up a contact heading towards the fleet on an intercept course. He couldn't get solid readings on it from this range, the ship appeared to be employing a stealth system similar to what his people employed on there warships, though it wasn't quite the same. Still it made getting a sensor lock difficult from this range, even though the sensors on the _Sword of Justice_ like all Victory, White Star and Blue Star class ships were based partially on Vorlon technology.

"Captain," he called out to get the attention of the _Sword of Justice's_ commanding officer. Captain Daniel Taggert turned in his command chair to look at the young Minbari ranger operating the sensor station.

"Yes Turlan?" he asked curious.

"The long-range sensors have detected an echo," Turlan reported. "It appears to be a ship on an intercept course. I cannot be sure the ship is using a stealth device similar to our own, combined with the effects of hyperspace its giving our long-range scans a few problems."

"Time to intercept," Daniel asked surprised by the presence of the stealth technology on the unknown ship. While stealth technology had spread from the Minbari to the other members of the Interstellar Alliance as a result of the technology sharing directives, they so far hadn't seen any ships in this part of space that had anything like it. A few times during the journey from ISA territory one of the fleet ships had spotted ships from local races on long-range scans or even medium range scans. Most of the ships had been an odd mix of advanced and primitive, combining very advanced technologies like artificial gravity with very basic jump engines. But none had shown evidence of any stealth technology.

"Ten minutes," Turlan replied.

"Interesting. Communications hail the _Independence_, let General Crichton know what we've detected and request instructions."

"Yes sir," the Brakiri ranger manning the communications station responded before typing in the command to open a communications channel with the _Independence_.

**

* * *

EAS Independence**

General Jack Crichton listened with interest as he sat in his office listening as one of the communications officers reported in from the bridge on what the _Sword of Justice_ had detected. The news of the approaching ship was interesting, though he doubted it would be a threat to his fleet. Still he knew to tread carefully here as this was a first contact situation, caution was the order of the day.

"Tell the _Sword of Justice_ to break away from the fleet and move towards the unknown ship," he ordered at last. "Captain Taggert is to attempt peaceful contact with the alien vessel and determine its intention. He is not to charge up weapons or fire unless fired upon."

"Aye, sir," the communications officer responded then the channel went dead. Jack leaned back in his seat and thought for a few moments, before standing up and leaving his office to go to the bridge it would be easier to observe what happened next from there, and to react if needs be.

**

* * *

Nebari Host Ship Shentaya**

**A Few Minutes Later**

Captain Vala looked up startled when her sensor lieutenant made a soft sound of surprise, hands dancing across the console.

"Captain one of the alien ships is breaking away and moving towards us on an intercept course," the sensor lieutenant reported. "Their sensors appear to be able to penetrate our stealth field."

"That's impossible," Vala exclaimed stunned. No sensors not even the strongest Peacekeeper sensors were able to penetrate the stealth fields on a Nebari host ship from anything other than point-blank range, it was one of the many advantages provided to the establishment by mysterious aliens she knew of only as The Teachers. The Teachers had vanished twenty cycles ago but the establishment kept on the legacy they had been taught and would eventually take that to the rest of the galaxy, as the last order of the last of The Teachers had instructed them to.

"Alien ship closing," sensors reported. "The stealth field is not blocking their scans, the beams are unlike anything I have ever seen before."

"Tactical is our stealth system at full power," Vala asked.

"Yes captain it is," tactical reported. "The alien sensors are just penetrating it as if it's not there."

"Jump to normal space," Vala ordered knowing that her action was clear, she had to know how these unknowns could penetrate the stealth field. She would defeat and board the alien vessel; once mentally cleansed the crew would tell them everything they needed to know. "Raise shields and power up all weapons systems."

"Yes, captain."

**

* * *

Sword of Justice**

Turlan noted a change in the power readings on the alien ship. A distortion field consistent with a forming jump point was opening in front of it.

"Captain the alien ship is opening a jump point to normal space," he said.

"Navigation allow our range to close then follow them into normal space," Daniel ordered.

"Yes, sir."

**

* * *

The Zelbinion**

**That Same Time**

John Crichton was silent as they three of them made there way onto the wreckage of the broken, defeated Peacekeeper warship's command centre. The nature of the damage he'd observed had changed the deeper into the derelect warship they'd gone. Here in the core sections the damage was less and less from battle and more and more from looting. Everywhere panels had been ripped open and there were gaps in the walls where consoles and pieces of equipment had been ripped out.

John paused entering the command centre surprised by how much like the bridge of the old Hyperion-class cruisers it was in design. Consoles stood in rows on either side of a long central isle, but there were no chairs or any securing bolts for them so they'd not been looted. Though naturally everything was in ruins. All the consoles seemed to be dark, scorched and burned. Debris from overhead littered the floor and a fallen support beam had sliced one of the crescent-shaped consoles in half.

D'Argo quietly broke away from John and Aeryn and made his way to the navigation station. Squatting down to look at the memory bank D'Argo inwardly sighed when he saw that every last data crystal had been removed. There were no star charts or any data of value left in the navigational systems.

"All the data crystals have been removed from the navigational system," he said standing up. "There are no galactic star charts or jump beacon frequencies here. This vessel has been gutted to worthlessness."

"Pity it would have been useful," John said. "In away I'm glad we didn't find anything. A lot of sentients died on this ship its a grave. It should be left alone."

D'Argo looked at John for a moment; he understood the way the Human Ranger felt about the deaths on this ship. In his culture dead warriors were treated with the utmost respect. Though he had no love for the Peacekeepers for what they had done to him he had to admit that at least some of them could be entitled to some peace in death while their souls journeyed to whatever afterlife there was for Sebaceans. D'Argo looked away and as he did so he noticed that the lights were still on at one of the consoles.

"There's still power to this console," D'Argo said surprised moving over to the console to examine it. Aeryn followed and frowned, she recognised this station. It was the controls for the _Zelbinion's_ communications systems; somebody had recently restored power to it and seemed to be reconfiguring the ships damaged tachyon communications arrays to send a message.

"Someone has regenerated communications," she said. "Recently and is in the process of restoring power to the interstellar communications systems."

"There is someone else here," D'Argo growled hefting his Qualta blade into ready position. Aeryn did the same with her pulse rifle. John sighed and removed his denn'bok from his belt and deployed it. _Why in Valen's name does everyone have to be so trigger happy,_ he thought as in a cautious pattern D'Argo and Aeryn began to search the bridge. John reluctantly joined in listening for even the slightest sound to betray the location of whoever else was on this derelict warship.

After a moment a pile of debris was violently thrown aside and John caught the glimpse of a terrified looking blond female in somekind of coveralls trying to race out of the bridge.

"D'Argo I'm blocked," Aeryn called out trying and failing to bring her pulse rifle to bare on the other Sebacean woman, her line of fire was blocked by a fallen support beam. D'Argo's aim however was not and he raised his Qualta blade in rifle mode to fire.

"NO," John shouted from where he was stand the power in his voice freezing everyone. "Everyone stop. There has been enough death on this ship don't you think?" As he spoke he stood right in front of the bridge entrance presenting a human roadblock. He held his denn'bok in ready position. "You shall not pass," he said to the blond Sebacean.

The blond woman looked straight at him, then at D'Argo and Aeryn. As she looked John saw the fear and panic fade from her eyes replaced by recognition especially of D'Argo and Aeryn.

"Office Sun," the woman said before looking at D'Argo and John again. "The escaped prisoners." John frowned at the woman. How did she know them?

"How does she know us," he asked.

"Because she's from the _Lendrolla_," Aeryn answered. "She's a tech from the ship that send Officer Crais and the _Kraymor_ after us."

**

* * *

Sword of Justice**

Captain Taggert kept his eyes firmly on the windows at the front of the bridge as a jump point to normal space opened ahead of his ship. He watched the red and black maelstrom of hyperspace gave way first to a blue energy vortex then to a sea of unfamiliar stars as the _Sword of Justice_ cruised serenely into normal space.

"Turlan where is the alien ship," he asked.

"Alien ship is off our starboard bow sir," Turlan reported then frowned. "Sir the alien ship has shields activated and we are reading weapons systems powering up."

"Raise shields," Taggert ordered. "Power weapons systems but do not open gun ports yet. Let them make the first moves. Communications hail them."

"No response sir," the Brakiri Ranger replied. "They can hear us but they are ignoring us."

"We're being targeted," Gra'tan the Narn tactical officer reported. Taggert turned his seat slightly so he could look at one of the bridge screens, which showed a tactical display of the alien ship. The vessel was truly a bizarre design vaguely wedged-shaped and studded with all sorts of projections.

"Energy spike," Gra'tan reported a second before the alien ship fired.

**

* * *

Nebari Host Ship Shentaya**

Vala permitted herself a small smile as she watched two blue quantum particle beams streak forth from her ships main guns towards the huge alien warship. The warship was bigger than her ship and almost fragile looking, though its lines spoke of great power. The hull was a sapphire blue material that looked like it was organic but Vala was sure that it wasn't – no race she knew of other than The Teachers had mastered organic technology.

A moment before impact the beams from her ship struck an energy shield that hugged close to the alien ships hull, the beams broke up instantly dispersing on the gravitic energy barrier, the energy sleeting ineffectively back out into space in a soft bluish fog of dispersing particles.

"Direct hit to the alien ship," her tactical officer reported. "No damage their shields are holding. Alien warship opening gun ports we're being targeted."

"Fire again," Vala ordered. "All forward guns."

"Yes captain." Before tactical could comply Vala saw a slender green energy beam reach out towards them and make contact with shields around the _Shentaya_ making the whole ship shudder with the impact. Then her own guns fired back sending multiple blue quantum beams at the alien ship. Each shot impacting the alien shields and setting them aglow. Through it though the aliens hit back with green and yellow energy beams that slammed into her ship like sledgehammers. Each blow shaking the _Shentaya _violently.

**

* * *

EAS Independence**

General Jack Crichton looked over at the communications officer as he heard the chirp of an incoming signal.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Message from the _Sword of Justice_ sir," Ensign Slater reported from the communications station, eyes going wide. "Sir the unknown ship is firing upon them. No warning or provocation, alien is firing quantum particle beams similar to Drakh weapons but not as powerful. The _Sword of Justice_ reports they are returning fire but that their shields are weakening."

"All ships battle stations," Jack ordered immediately. "Navigation plot an intercept course then relay to all ships."

"Aye, sir," navigation reported as the battle stations klaxon began to wail throughout the _Independence_ summoning the crew to action stations.

**

* * *

Nebari Host Ship Shentaya**

"Keep firing," Vala ordered gripping the armrests of her chair as her ship shuddered under another barrage of return fire from the unknowns. This was not going as well as she would have hoped, the alien ships gravitic shields were incredibly strong almost as if the aliens had encountered quantum weapons before. Her weapons were weakening the alien shields but not as quickly as she would have hoped. The primary shields on a Peacekeeper carrier would be almost down by now and a Scarren dreadnought would already be dead. The alien weapons – which there sensors indicate were a mix of neutron particle beams and somekind of fusion lasers – were steadily ripping into her ship. Weakening her own shields with every blow.

"Shield status?" she ordered.

"Shields at seventy-four percent captain," tactical reported. "Alien shields are at eighty-five percent. Their shield technology appears slightly more advanced than hours. Captain jump points forming all around us."

"Show me," Vala ordered and a holographic screen coalesced into existence in front of her. Twelve blue jump points formed in space all around the _Shentaya_ emerging from them were twelve ships, the rest of the fleet that the alien had broken away from. Abruptly the alien ship stopped firing.

"Captain the alien fleet is targeting us with all weapons," tactical reported a shudder of fear in the officers voice.

"Target the biggest ship," Vala ordered. "Prepare for a lateral run all guns. Engineering can we jump."

"Jump engines are recharging," the bridge engineer reported. "We'll be capable of opening a jump point in thirty five microns."

"Excellent begin…" Vala's voice was cut off by a crackle from the speakers as a powerful transmission came in.

"Alien vessel this is General Jack Crichton of the Interstellar Alliance," a powerful male voice said. "I command the vessels you face. You have committed an unprovoked act of aggression against us. You are ordered to stand down and prepare to be boarded immediately."

**

* * *

EAS Independence**

Sitting in the command chair of the mighty Firebrand-class dreadnought General Jack Crichton waited patiently for the alien vessel to respond to his ultimatum. The unprovoked attack on the _Sword of Justice_ had shocked him to the core, and also angered him. He also didn't understand what motivated it; they hadn't done anything wrong. Anything to provoke an attack.

"There ignoring us sir," Ensign Slater reported.

"Hmm tactical."

"Sir?" the tactical officer asked.

"Fire a warning shot across their bow."

"Aye, sir."

One of the _Independence's_ heavy plasma cannon turrets rotated and fired a green plasma bolt towards the alien warship, the pulse passing the bow of the ship in a clean, deliberate miss.

"Alien vessel that was your only warning," Jack said speaking again. "Stand down immediately or we will open fire. You have thirty seconds to comply."

"General the alien ship is turning towards us. It looks like they're planning to race past us presumably so they can jump," tactical reported.

"That doesn't make any sense," DK commented from the science station. "Surely if they scanned us they would see that we can focus heavy firepower on any vector."

"General it doesn't look like they are going to co-operate," Captain Roberts said.

"No it doesn't," Jack replied with a sigh. "Stand by with boarding parties." Jack pressed a button on the arm of his chair. "Fleet command to all ships. Target the alien vessels engine and weapons systems. I want them disabled not destroyed."

"Alien vessel targeted sir," tactical reported.

"Fire."

A neutron beam flashed out from the _Independence_, simultaneously the two Earth Force battlecruisers flanking the _Independence_ fired their plasma cannons and fusion beams. From the port side of the alien vessel the Minbari Sharlin-class war cruiser fired its dual neutron cannon/fusion beam mounts and the Tinashi-class war frigates their neutron cannons. From behind the _Sword of Justice _fired he starboard neutron cannons and fusion pulse cannons, and from the starboard side the White Stars let rip with there pulse cannons and gravitic neutron cannons. The barrage of firepower crashed into the alien warship in a carefully planned pattern.

The shields collapsed almost instantly, the gravitic energy field unable to withstand a bombardment that would have severely damaged a Vorlon dreadnought or Shadow battlecrab. Neutron beams, fusion beams, plasma bolts, pulsed fusion bolts and pulsed neutron blasts slammed into the alien's naked armour. Armour alternatively vaporised, boiled off of disintegrated as the incoming firepower demolished weapons arrays and gravitic engines leaving the ship on fire and adrift.

"Cease fire," Jack ordered. "Send in the breaching pods."

"Aye, sir," Captain Roberts replied.

**

* * *

Nebari Host Ship Shentaya**

Captain Vala groaned as she picked herself up off the floor where she had been thrown when the alien fleet attacked. Looking around she was stunned by what she saw, the bridge was in ruins, multiple consoles were burning or showering sparks and all around lay the dead bodies of the bridge crew. _This is impossible,_ she thought, _this cannot be. Host ships are supposed to be invincible. We cannot be beaten by anyone._

A bleeping sound caught her attention and she stumbled through the wreckage of the bridge to the sensor stations and frowned when she saw a dozen small contacts leaving the biggest of the Interstellar Alliance warships, heading right towards her ship. She guessed they were boarding craft of somekind.

"I can't let this happen," she muttered and returned to her command chair. "They cannot have this ship. The secrets of my people and The Teachers must remain secret."

Opening a panel she keyed in a code.

_"Warning! Auto-destruct sequence activated. Detonation in thirty microns,"_ the _Shentaya's_ computer said. Vala settled down in her chair and held herself proud despite the pain from the wounds she had sustained tearing through her.

She listened as the computer countdown reached zero. A bright flash abruptly filled the bridge, there was a momentary blast of pain, and then everything faded away into darkness.

**

* * *

EAS Independence**

Jack shielded his eyes with his arm as on the high definition screen the alien warship exploded from within. A plasma blast wave shooting up from the small sun that erupted where the ship had been. The _Independence_ shuddered violently as the plasma wave washed over them though it was well within the deflection capacity of the shields so they sustained no damage. Not so lucky though were the breaching pods, three were enveloped in the blast wave and were instantly destroyed. The others being further away had there armour scorched but thankfully escaped damage.

Seeing the spreading debris from the three breaching pods Jack clenched his jaw in anger. There had been no need for that; the aliens had no need to commit suicide, they would have been well looked after even under interrogation.

"Recall the breaching pods," he ordered. "Then all ships to jump back to hyperspace and resume previous course. I'll be in my office."

"Aye, sir."

"Captains Roberts you have the bridge," Jack added as he stood up.

"Aye, sir." Roberts replied as Jack left the bridge.

* * *

Jack made his way through his flagship to his office. As soon as he arrived he went around his desk and sat down, deep in thought. He was going to have to write an after action report as well as letters to the families of those troops who'd died on the three destroyed breaching pods once he knew there names. It was a task that was his duty as a commanding officer to do, and it was a task that he always hated.

"Damn it why did they attack," he asked the air but naturally received no reply. Even if there had been someone to answer there would have been no reply to the question, as no one knew the answer to the question reverberating through Jack's mind. _I guess it's a question to which this is no answer,_ Jack thought, _but I would sure like one. Why oh why did they attack us?_

Sighing he forced that question out of his mind and turned his attention to his computer. The after action report would have to be sent to both Earth Force Command and the Interstellar Alliance, it was time he got started on it.


End file.
